Amazing Grace
by ScarletFBL
Summary: After a busy night at the lab, Nick stumbles upon someone being attacked in an alley. NickGreg AU
1. I Once was Lost

-1This popped into my head one night. I had to write it out...At 12:30 in the morning. sweatdrop nn"

Nick was driving home from the lab. He had a hard day at work, today. Everything seemed to be going wrong. Some evidence that he had gathered from a homicide uptown had gotten contaminated, and he'd had to go all the way back to the crime scene by himself to remedy his mistake. Then the evidence that he re-gathered had gotten misplaced by someone in the lab. It wasn't his fault that time, but it kept him from going home at a decent hour because he'd had to wait for it to be found in order to finish his paperwork.

It was nearly four in the morning before he was let off. All that stress had left him a bit twitchy, and he wanted to get some comfort food to help lull him to sleep. Cheap and fattening, preferably. He wasn't patient enough to try and drive around Las Vegas to see what food establishments were open. Contrary to popular belief, Las Vegas did go to sleep, occasionally.

I pulled up to a 7 Eleven, and got out. He grabbed bags of chips, pastries, he got a hot dog, and he got a diet Pepsi. Hell, it didn't have caffeine, he wasn't trying to watch his figure, or anything like that. I dumped it all on the counter and waited for the clerk to ring him up. He'd bought nearly fifteen dollars worth of junk. That number pleased him. The clerk bagged it and he got the bag and to it out to his car, and that's when he heard it.

At first he thought that it was some cat fooling around in the garage, he couldn't really see into the alley. A light that should have been there must have burned out, or gotten busted. He shrugged and was about to get into his car when he heard a muffled scream.

Nick slowly reached into his car and got his gun. He quietly closed the door. He took the safety off of his gun and made his way into the darkened alley. The further he got, the less light shown into the alley from the convenience store, and the less he could see, but his eyes soon adjusted.

He was nearly on the source of the sound when something scuttled past against his let. He almost yelled. He looked behind him. Dumb, lucky cat. He'd almost lost one of his nine lives, right now. Nick couldn't believe that he was about to get all NYPD Blue on a cat.

Nick sighed and turned to leave the alley.

"Please, someone help me!"

The sound of flesh striking flesh could beard. "Shut the fuck up, bitch!" Nick could heard sounds of a struggle.

Nick knew it was kind of stupid to do it because he didn't know if the other guy had a gun, or if this was some kind of trap, but he did it anyway.

"Freeze! LVPD!" He lied. It wasn't like he could yell that he was a CSI. Most people didn't even know what it was. The pros and cons of being in the background. 

The sounds of struggle stopped, and Nick heard a curse. Nick was about to come forward, to save whomever it was that needed saving when a body collided with his, knocking him to the ground. He quickly pushed the person off of him and trained his gun on whomever just ran into him. Nick's eyes widened. It looked to be the victim, who huddled away from Nick as far as he could go before his back hit the wall. If this was the potential victim, then that must mean-

BAM!

The guy seemed to come out of nowhere. He punched Nick in the stomach and winded him. The guy went for Nick's gun. Nick moved the gun out of his reach, hauled back, and kicked the guy in the chest. The guy went down and hit his head on a dumpster, out cold. Nick stared at him for a long time, making sure that he was really out for the count before he went over to the victim.

"Hey, are you okay?" Nick asked. He tried to get a good look at him. The guy couldn't have been more than eighteen. He still had all of his clothes on, but they were torn and filthy.

The guy seemed to jerk away form the sound of his voice. Nick wanted to touch his shoulder to reassure him, but he knew that trying to initiate physical contact with a rape victim, even a near victim, wasn't wise. "Please don't hurt me." A weak voice said.

"I'm not going to hurt you. I'm hear to help you." Nick said, but the other man didn't seem to be listening. He scurried away from Nick and tried to make a run for it. There was something odd about the way he ran, like he couldn't decide which way he was going, or which way was up. Was it possible that he has been drugged?

Before the guy even made it to the end of the alleyway, he fell, tripping over something that was obviously in his way. Nick ran over to help him up. He grabbed his arm and tried to pull him up. _Big_ mistake. Nick was assaulted be a barrage of punches and kicks. Some directed at his face, some at his chest, stomach, legs, and shins, anywhere that was accessible, really.

Nick managed to grab the young man by his arms and pin him against the wall. It was either touch him now, or get kicked where it would _really_ hurt. He could already feel his jaw swelling. The guy packed a punch. At least in the hits he'd landed.

"Look, damn it, I'm _not_ trying to hurt you! I'm a CSI. I work with the LVPD. I'm trying to help you!" Nick panted, not quite recovered from the first punch to the gut he'd gotten, let alone what the this guy just dished out.

The guy whimpered and shook in his arms. "I don't believe you! You're probably trying to trick me like he did!"

"I'm not. See for yourself." Nick reached into his back pocket, keeping a firm grip, and removed his wallet. He held up his CSI issue ID. The man just stared off into the distance, somewhere slightly over Nick's shoulder. It was pretty dark, but he could tell that much. Nick frowned. He put his walled but into his pocket and stared at the other man for a moment. He waved his hand in front of the man's face. The man didn't blink, but he jerked away from the presence of Nick's hand in front of his face. It dawned on him.

"Oh, my God. Are you blind?" Nick asked.

The man looked as if he was trying to decide whether or not he was going to answer. "Yes, I am."


	2. But Now Am Found

-1Nick's eyes widened. "Okay, look, I'm going to lead you out to the front, and I want you to stay there. I'm going to call the cops and an ambulance." he said. He slowly let go of the man. When he didn't immediately try to flee, he was reassured.

The man shook his head, frantically. "No! Don't call the police! I won't be able to stay here anymore if you do." He grabbed Nick's arms.

Nick frowned. What was he talking about? Did he want to stay here in the alley, or something? He looked around. The guy from earlier was gone. "Fuck!" The guy jerked away from him, again. "No, no. It's not you. That guy is gone."

"What?"

Nick sighed. "He must have gone while you were…distracting me." He rubbed at his jaw. "Look, can I at least take you to the hospital? I'd feel a lot better knowing that you're okay, and you're not going to die from your injuries two days after I let you go," he asked.

"Fine. Just no cops, alright?" The man let go and allowed Nick to lead him to the front of the store.

Nick didn't want to tell the other man, but he had every intention of pressing charges should he ever come across the other man. He had no doubt that if the man had succeeded in getting a hold of his gun, he would be dead by now, and God only knows what would have happened to the other man.

Now that Nick had the man in the fluorescent glow of the lights, he could really see how the other man looked. The man had oddly styled brown hair with highlights. _'What does a blind man need with highlights?'_ Nick thought. His face was badly bruised and he could now see flecks of blood on the man's t-shirt. He looked at the man's eyes. They were an unnatural shade of hazel. They were too bright and too clear, too piercing. The man was shaking.

"Come with me to my car, it's right over here," he said, talking with he walked over, hoping that the man could follow his voice. He could. He opened the door for him. "Watch your step, it's kinda high." The other man nodded and grasped the door, using it as leverage to get himself inside. Nick closed the door and got in on his side, making sure to remove his gun from his pants and put on the safety again. He threw it into the backseat.

He started the car and started to drive towards the hospital. They spent three red lights silently, not talking to each other, before someone spoke. Nick softly cleared his throat, so as not to alarm the other guy. "So, um, what's your name."

The other man turned away from the window that he'd been 'looking' out of for the past five minutes and stared in Nick's direction. "My name's Greg. Greg Sanders," he said, softy.

"Greg, huh? My name's Nick Stokes. Like I said before, I work as a CSI," Nick said.

"What's a CSI?" Greg asked, looking confused.

Nick smiled. "I analyze crime scenes. My specialty is hair and fiber analysis. I like to think that what I do is a step above poking a body with a stick."

Greg let out a little laugh. He quieted. "I'm glad that you didn't have to work on my scene." He shuddered.

Nick nodded. "I'm glad I didn't, either." Neither of them spoke again until they entered the hospital.

Nick flashed his ID around and managed to get Greg a private room right away. He knew once he left, that Greg having his own room probably wouldn't last long, but he felt a wave of protectiveness come over him every time he saw Greg flinch when the doctor would touch him.

The doctor pulled Nick aside afterward.

"He seems to be fine. Nothing's broken, and the bruising should go away after about a week, so will the scratches. He was a very lucky man. Are you sure you don't want him to press charges?" The doctor asked.

Nick looked and he could see Greg stiffen. "No," he shook his head. "He doesn't want to, and I'm not going to force him to, even though I agree with you."

The doctor nodded. Quite a few people chose not to press charges when they were attacked or abused and he didn't like it, but as long as the man wasn't hurt too badly, he wouldn't put up a fuss. "Are you sure you don't need medical attention. It looks like you were attacked, as well." He motioned to Nick's face.

Nick looked a little embarrassed. "Um, no, I wasn't really. I just surprised him, that's all. It was really my fault. It doesn't hurt too bad."

The doctor tsked, but left Nick alone. He turned back to Greg. "Mr. Sanders," Greg's head turned in his direction. "I want to put a cold compress on those bruises, and keep those cuts clean, alright?"

Greg nodded. "Yes."

The doctor seemed satisfied. "Okay. You're free to go home." He turned to Nick. "I assume that you're going to be taking Mr. Sanders home?" He asked.

"Yeah," Nick said.

The doctor turned to go. "Come back if anything changes." He left.

Nick walked over to stand by Greg, careful not to crowd him. He leaned his hip against the examining table that Greg sat on. Greg turned towards him. "So, you ready to go home?" Nick asked.

Greg turned away. "I don't have a home, anymore."

Nick frowned. "What do you mean?"

Greg sighed. "My roommate kicked me out this morning."

Nick's eyes widened. "Your roommate kicked you out at four o'clock in the morning-?"

"More like two o'clock," Greg interrupted.

Nick snorted. "Same difference. What kind of asshole would do something like that?" _'And to someone who's blind, nonetheless!'_ Nick thought.

"The kind who would give me an ultimatum. 'Put out or get the fuck out', he said. Of course, I didn't have much choice when he threw me outside without my keys. He made it very clear that he didn't want me there, anymore." Greg said, looking down.

"He can't do that! Press charges, do something," Nick said.

Greg sighed again. "I can't. Everything's in his name. I came out here to stay with him. It's the only reason my parents let me come to school out here."

"And how old are you, exactly?"

Greg smiled a little. "I'm twenty-two. I've been told that I look younger, though."

"No kidding…." Nick got an idea. "Why don't you come and crash with me, for a while?"

Greg 'looked' at Nick.

Nick had to suppress a shudder. _Those eyes are really something. It's like they're piercing right through me. I wonder if he knows that he has that effect on people._

"Um, no offence, but I don't even know you," Greg said.

"Sure, you do. I'm a CSI. I showed the doctors my ID. They know who I am, anyway. They wouldn't even consider letting me take you home if I wasn't legit."

Greg thought that over. "I don't want to impose…."

"You won't be. I have plenty of place, and a spare bedroom. I think that we could both be there at the same time, and hardly bump into each other at all." Okay, so that was a bit of an exaggeration, but he didn't want anything to happen to Greg. He didn't want him going back to own home were his roommate probably still was.

Greg was quiet for a long time. He his hand through his hair, making it stand on end, something that Nick though was adorable. "Okay, but only for a little while. Just until I can find myself another roommate. I don't want to have to move back in with my parents."

Nick did a little dance inside. Greg was going to be safe with him. "Come on, I'll take you to my house."

Greg stood up and held onto the table, feeling along it as he walked past Nick.

"Don't you have, like, a walking stick, or something?" Nick asked.

Greg nodded. "Yeah, but it's still at my apartment. I didn't get a chance to grab it before I got thrown out."

"Hm. I'll have to go and get it," Nick said.

Greg turned back to him. "You don't have to do that."

"It's not a problem. Besides, I don't want you going back there," Nick said.

"I'll have to go back there, eventually. I have to get my stuff." _'If he hasn't thrown it out, already.'_ Greg thought.

"Okay, but I'm coming with you. For now, just give me a list of things that you need at this moment," Nick told him. "Those things, I can get myself, right?"

"Yeah."

"Then, it's settled." He walked up to Greg. "Do you mind if I ask you to hold my arm? I mean, when we were coming up here, I was worried that you were going to bump into something, but I didn't want to get into your personal space like that."

"I can manage, just fine." Those words were bellied when Greg let out a huge yawn and swayed on his feet. He'd just realized how tired he was, thought Nick could already sense it. "Er, okay. Just this once you can. I'll have my stick back, and I won't have to depend on you like this."

Nick smiled and held out his arm, and Greg grasped it. Behind that young and meek appearance, Greg seemed to be a very independent and proud person. He'd just caught him at a vulnerable time. Looks like he wasn't going to have to do as much saving as he thought.


	3. Settling In

-1I've finally gotten over my 2nd chapter curse. Woohoo! BOOYAH!

It was already light out by the time Nick got them to his home. Greg sat on the couch, idly wondering why Nick was being so nice to him. The man didn't even know him. He felt around on the coffee table that he'd bumped into on the way in, and found the remote. "Hey, Nick! Can I watch some TV?"

Nick's head popped in from his room. "Sure, but how…?"

"I like to listen," Greg said. He could get why Nick had wanted to ask that question. People back home had asked him all the time.

"How could a blind boy like TV so much?" His mother's friend had asked. He never liked her very much.

Greg turned on the TV. He felt around on the remote and pressed the combination of buttons that he had memorized.

He could hear Nick groan. "Oh, don't tell me you like Sponge Bob…."

Greg smiled. "Fine. I won't." He continued to listen to what was happening on the TV.

Nick shook his head and walked into his room. I was almost seven, and he had to go to work at six later that night. He was planning on going and picking up some of Greg's things from his apartment that he used to share with his roommate before he went to work. Greg had already made him a list.

Made him a list….that surprised him. He also have detailed directions to the apartment. Greg could write, and he wrote in perfect lines, but those lines didn't always coincide with the lines on the paper. Nick figured that was wasn't always blind, and that he must have learned to write at some point before that. Nick wanted to ask him about it, but he felt that it wasn't time to ask Greg about his past so soon.

Nick went over to the drawer and got out a t-shirt and pajama bottoms that he thought would fit Greg. Greg was very thin, and Nick was going to have to fatten him up. If Catherine saw Greg as skinny as he was, she'd kick Nick ass for him not bringing the other man over for dinner. He walked back into the living room to give them to Greg.

"Hey, Greg, I've got you some…." Nick paused. Greg was fast asleep on his couch, already drooling slightly on the seat cushions, cartoons blaring. In his sleep, he looked even younger. Nick chuckled and shook his head. He sat the clothes down on the coffee table. He went into the spare bedroom and took the cover off the bed. He went back into the living room and laid the cover over Greg who didn't stir at all, only settled deeper into the couch, wrapping the cover around himself. Nick cut off the TV. He inwardly wondered if it was wrong to think that someone who looked that young, was cute. Probably.

He went back into his bed and undressed down to his boxers. He'd already shown Greg around the house, and the other man felt around, trying to memorize every detail. He was pretty confident that Greg could get up and help himself, should he need anything. He doubted that Greg would come to him for it, anyway. He got into bed and fell asleep.

When he awoke at around 2:30 p.m. Greg was already up. He had on the clothes Nick has set out for him.

Greg turned when he heard Nick come in. "I'm guessing you work the night shift?"

Nick sat down next to him. He smelled soap and something that had to be uniquely Greg. It was like spice and citrus. "Yeah, I do. Is that gonna be a problem for you?"

Greg shook his head. "No, I actually have night school, so it's perfect. I go from 6:00 p.m. to 10:45 p.m. That gonna be a problem for you?" Greg asked.

"Nope. I could drive you to school since I'll be leaving for work around the time you need to leave." Nick offered.

"That would be great. You can drive me until I learn the bus route around here," Greg said.

"Bus route? You don't have to take the bus, I can-"

Greg waved Nick off. "I want to. It's one of the things that I can do on my own. Since I can't drive, I can at least take the bus like everyone else."

'That makes sense,' Nick though. 'I wouldn't like it if I had to depend on someone to haul my ass everywhere, so why would he?' "Alright. I'm gonna go hit the shower. After that, I'm going to head by your place. You sure you wrote down everything that you needed?"

Greg nodded. "Yes. Everything on there should be in my room. I hope he lets you in."

Nick nodded. "What's this guy's name, anyway? Not that it's important, or anything, but I can't just waltz in his house not even knowing his name."

Greg scratched his leg. "His name is Brad." He turned back towards the TV and changed the channel. Some other brightly-colored cartoon came on, one Nick didn't know.

Nick got up and walked into to the bathroom. He took a shower and then got dressed. Twenty minutes later, he was on his way to Greg's apartment….well, what used to be his apartment.

He pulled up to a slate gray apartment building.

"This place looks pretty swanky," Nick thought out loud. He went up to the door that had the right number, and rang the doorbell. He waited. Soon after, he could feel the thundering steps of someone coming to the door.

'It's a good thing that he doesn't live on the second floor, or he'd have had more than a few complaints about that,' Nick thought.

The door swung open and a man who was about a foot taller than Nick was revealed. He was built like some Adonis, but there was something sinister about him. Nick had to wonder how Greg had made it out of the apartment without this guy forcing himself on someone as small as Greg.

"Who the hell are you?" The man sneered.

Nick stood his ground. "I'm a friend of Greg's. I'm here to pick up some of his stuff," he said.

The guy raised an eyebrow. "That's funny. I didn't know the little asshole had friends out here."

"I assume that you were his roommate," Nick ground out. This man was the asshole, not Greg. 'Who answers the door like that?'

"I was," Brad said.

"Can I just come in and get his stuff?" Nick said, looking impatiently at the man who was blocking the doorway.

Brad stared at Nick for a moment. "Get his shit, and then get the fuck out. I got places to go. I don't have time to waste waiting on that asshole's stupid friend." He moved out of the way.

Nick could feel heat traveling up from his neck to his face as he walked past. He was probably red as a tomato right now, and it wasn't because he was embarrassed. It was taking all he had not to haul off and punch the guy. Bigger, or not, he seriously needed to be cut down to size.

Nick found Greg's room easily. It actually looked like someone lived in there instead of like a party had thrown up in it, like Brad's did. He stopped and listened. Brad was off in the kitchen, stomping away, doing whatever it was he was doing. He looked in Greg's closet. The suitcase was where he said that it would be. He opened it and started putting this in. Schoolbooks, supplies, something that looked like an expensive chemistry kit. Nick paused. What exactly did Grew study?

He packed some clothes, and grabbed a bag that held Greg's toiletries. There must not have been much of a roommate relationship to begin with if they didn't even keep their things in the same bathroom. He looked for Greg's walking stick, expecting to see it up against a corner, or something. It was nowhere to be seen. He looked under Greg's bed, but all he found was a small pouch that was about eleven inches long, and looked like an umbrella cover. He looked inside. It was Greg's walking stick. He took it out. It was made out of lightweight aluminum and had a black handle with a wrist-secure. It was folded into five sections. Nick flicked his wrist and the stick extended out to it's full length.

Nick smiled. It was kinda cool. He folded it back up and placed it back in it's pouch before putting it into the suitcase as well. He only had to gather a few more things, before he was ready to go. 'Thank God for suitcases with rollers!' Nick thought.

Nick walked back through the apartment to the living room. He saw Brad sitting in a recliner, the sole piece of furniture in there, in front of the TV. Nick snorted. 'So much for having to go somewhere.'

"I'm leaving. I'll come back with Greg to get the rest," Nick said as he headed to the door.

"Whatever. I don't need a play-by-play. Just tell him to get his scrawny ass here soon to come and get his shit, or I'll throw it out on the curb." Brad grunted, not even looking at Nick.

Nick walked out the apartment, slamming the door.

Nick walked into his house, fuming. He slammed the door. Greg jumped.

"So, I take it you've met Brad?" Greg asked.

"No, shit! How do you live with that guy! He's a complete asshole. Please tell me that he did something other than throwing you out, so I can be justified in kicking his ass!"

Greg laughed, trying to hide the shudder of pleasure that he felt because Nick was being so protective of him. Usually, people would just get in his way falling all over themselves trying to do everything for him, but not Nick. Nick managed to be there when he needed him, and gave him space when he needed it. At least, so far.

"Nicky, I may be blind, but I know that he's a big guy. If anybody's kicking anybody's ass, it's probably him kicking yours," Greg said, trying to stifle a laugh. He wasn't succeeding.

Nick looked affronted. "Well excuse me! I'm sorry for trying to defend your honor, you ungrateful little brat!" Nick couldn't help laughing now, too. Greg was rolling on the couch holding his sides.

"You…defending…honor!" Greg said, in between gasps.

Nick rolled his eyes and sat down next to Greg on the couch. He snatched up the remote before he was forced to watch anymore horrible cartoons.

"Hey!"

It was his house, damn it! He was going to watch what he wanted to watch before he had to go to work. At least, that's what he told himself.

A/N: Okay, I was thinking about these two things:  
Greg gets soap in his eye while taking a shower and Nick comes to the rescue (We all know how that's gonna turn out!).  
Warrick comes over for a surprise visit while Nick is gone.

I don't know which one to choose for the next chapter.


	4. To the Rescue!

-1A/N: I'm on a roll! I'm like Puff Daddy (back then) and Mase! Can't nobody stop me now! RAWR! goes to calm down The Soap Scene has won by a landslide!

Needless to say, Nick had spent the last several days learning the name of everyone in Bikini Bottom. After this, if he ever saw a sponge again, he was going to set it on fire. He'd already gotten his revenge on his kitchen sponge. It lay in tatters in the bottom of his trashcan. Greg had heard what he was doing, and thought it was hilarious.

Greg had healed up from all of his injuries from that night. If he wanted to stay that way, Nick thought that it would be wise for him to lay off the cartoon torture for a while.

Before Nick knew it, it was time for him to get ready for work. He was dressed and ready to go. Nick looked at Greg. The other man was still in his pajamas on the couch, wrapped around his pillow.

"Greg, do you want me to drop you off today?" He asked Greg.

Greg shook his head. "No, I think that I'll ditch today. I'm ahead, anyway. I can catch up anything that I'll miss."

Nick nodded, but then remembered that Greg couldn't see him do it. "Okay. I'll be back around 2:00 a.m."

Greg waved him off. Something looked like it was bothering Greg.

"Greg, are okay?" he asked.

"Yeah…." Greg sighed. "Can I use your phone while you're out?" he asked. 

Had he been worried about asking Nick if he could use the phone? He shouldn't be afraid to ask Nick about something so trivial. "Yeah, of course."

"Long distance. I mean, _really_ long distance?" Greg added.

Nick couldn't think of any reason why Greg shouldn't be able to call long distance, so long as he didn't talk for a ridiculously long amount of time, and then there was the everyday aspect of…._'Oh….OH! He probably wants to talk to his parents. It wasn't him worrying about asking me for something at all. He's probably worried that his parents will make him come home._

It was something Nick was worried about, too. In the short amount of time that Nick had Greg in his home, he had gotten used to his presence. He liked being able to come home to something other than an empty bed. With Greg around, there were no lingering traces of the cases he done earlier those nights. Greg just filled his mind with chatter that was about everything and nothing at all, his sightless hazel eyes piercing something deep inside of Nick that he wasn't sure could even be touched.

Nick was aware that his fondness for Greg had changed into something more, but he wasn't sure that Greg was ready to make that step, and even if he was, could Nick be sure? It was only Thursday, and Greg had been through so much during the past week that it must have been emotionally challenging for the younger man. Nick wouldn't feel right if he won Greg's affections while he wasn't all there. And then, there was Nick's past.

Nick's relationships with men had been few, and far in between, and he'd always kept them secret. His relationships with women, on the other hand, weren't quite as subtle. His coworkers knew all about his escapades, some of them had even been past conquests. Nick wasn't sure how Greg would react to that information, the fact that Nick worked with past lovers, but that would only be a problem if he and Greg got together. He didn't even know if Greg was gay! No time to worry about that, now.

"Yeah, you can call long distance. Just keep the cluckin' down to a minimum, ya hear?" Nick said.

Greg seemed to come out of his funk, at least temporarily. "I do not 'cluck', as you say. I just have a talent for filling in those nasty silent moments with my wonderful voice." He did the worst impression of an opera singer that Nick had ever heard.

"Yeah, sounds more like you're choking a monkey," Nick snorted.

Greg threw his pillow at Nick and it hit him in the face. Greg could judge where Nick was by his voice. He'd said it was kind of like he'd gotten really good at the Marco, Polo! game, but not of his own choosing.

Nick caught it. It still amazed him that Greg had such great aim. He looked at the pillow and scrunched up his face. "Don't throw your pillow at me. You drool. It has a drool mark!" He threw it back at Greg, who caught it.

He looked affronted. "Oh, _whatever_! I do _not_ drool." Greg pouted. He hugged his pillow tight as if to protect it from Nick's verbal onslaught.

Nick snorted again. "Oh, yeah? Well, tell that to the stinky moisture on my face." He wiped at his face with his sleeve.

Greg 'hmphed' and turned away from Nick.

"Oh, don't be like that." Nick laughed.

"Shut, up. I ain't talking to you, until you apologize and say I don't drool."

"So you want me to lie?"

"Don't you have somewhere to be?"

"I thought that you weren't talking to me," Nick said.

"I'm not," Greg answered.

"Then, what do you call that?"

"Nothing."

"And _that_?"

"Shut up."

"And _that_, too?" Greg growled at Nick, actually growled. There was no way that Greg could not talk at any given moment, Nick knew. He knew that he was about to strike a nerve, but he couldn't help himself. Greg was too much fun too egg on. He decided to cut his losses, this time, and hightail it off to work. "I'm off. Try not to create a lake on my couch while I'm gone!" He slammed the door closed. He could have sworn that the thump of something soft hitting against wood as he left.

"…Nick!"

Nick jumped. Warrick had been trying to talk to Nick for the past five minutes, but the man seemed to keep zoning out on him.

"Huh?" He knew that Warrick had been trying to talk to him, but he just kept on drifting into la la land. He was thinking about a lot of things that didn't make sense to think about at one thirty in the morning, like bad music, lean muscled arms, brightly-colored cartoons, slim hips, expensive hair products, and unnaturally-colored hazel eyes….Shit, he'd been daydreaming about Greg again!

Warrick raised any eyebrow. He waved a hand in front of Nick's face. Nick bat it away. "Man, you in the here, and now?"

Nick nodded and rubbed at his face. "Yeah, I'm just tired. I've got some things going on at home that…." He froze. He did not just let that slip, did he?

"What so important at home that it could be bothering you all the way form Texas?" Warrick asked, not really catching the meaning of his slip.

Nigh let out a breath. The last thing he needed was for one of the most masculine CSIs to find out that he was living with a younger man that he had feelings for, and he'd been hiding it from everyone for almost a whole week. "Um, you know, sister troubles," he made up quickly.

Warrick nodded his head, knowingly. "Ah, one of your sister's been in a catfight? "Nick shook his head. He hadn't really thought this whole family crisis thing through. "No? One of 'em's pregnant. Not that either? Then what? Help me out here!" He threw up his hands.

"One of them is a lesbian!" Was there anyway that he could jam his foot into his mouth while still standing? Nick was willing to find out. Well, at least he could see where Warrick stood on the whole gay issue. Maybe he could reconsider telling him.

Warrick was silent for a long time. "Well, that's some shit. How'd your parents handle it?"

Quick! "They don't know. Only I do."

Warrick frowned. "She's gotta tell them. People can't just go around being gay, and not let people know, just in case they aren't okay with it."

Nick's heart dropped. _'Is that how Warrick really feels? I don't think that I'll be telling him that I have -and hopefully will keep on- dating men. One man in particular.'_

Greg sat holding the phone in his hand for a long time. It had taken him a long time just to pick it up. He dreaded having to make this call, but he knew that it was now or never. He had procrastinated way too long, and his parents were probably worried sick about him. He had never taken more than three days to call his parents, and it had already been five. By the time he finally dialed that overseas number, it was already midnight, or nine o'clock in the morning in Norway.

The phone rang. /Hello? Mr. Sanders speaking./ It was Greg's father.

Greg let out a sigh of relief. It wasn't his mother, so he wasn't going to be chewed out over the phone, at least not right now. "Dad, it's me," Greg said in Norwegian.

/Greg? I didn't recognize the number. What's happened? You haven't called us in a long time./ Mr. Sanders switched over to Norwegian as well.

"I know, I'm sorry. Yeah, something has happened, but you have to promise not to tell Mom," Greg pleaded.

/Son, you know I can't promise that. Just tell me what happened./

Greg sighed. "Okay. My roommate kicked me out…." He waited for it.

/What! How the hell did that happen! Greg/ Mr. Sanders yelled.

Greg really wished that his father wouldn't yell, otherwise his mom might….

/Honey, who are you talking to? Is that Greg/ Greg could hear in the background. He was so much dead meat.

/Um, well, Honey, you see…/ Mr. Sanders was never really a good liar, and when trying to lie to his wife, he was especially dismal.

Greg could hear the phone exchanging hands.

/Greg, baby, are you alright? Why haven't you called us? I was worried sick/ Mrs. Sanders wailed.

There was no getting anything past this woman. "Mom, my roommate kicked me out."

/WHAT/ Greg pulled the phone away from his ear. /That's it, were coming to get you! Where are you right now/ His mom gasped as if she just realized something. /You're not out wandering the streets, are you! Oh, my goodness! My baby's out in a foreign country, all by himself-/

"MOM! I'm not wandering the streets." _'Not anymore, anyway….'_ Greg thought. "I'm staying with someone else."

/Whom/

"He's a CSI. He works for the federal government. The LVPD, more specifically." Greg said.

Although his mother seemed to be appeased by that bit of information, she still kept him on the phone for a long while after that. Throughout their conversation, Greg had been sweating bullets, worried that his mother would fly over from Norway and bring him back home. He managed to convince her that she didn't have to do that, but she still wanted to fly over and check on him. Greg could deal with that. He hung up the phone, stood up and stretched. He caught a whiff of himself.

"Ew! Mother-induced sweat is not hot," he laughed. He made his way to the bathroom to take a shower. He didn't need his stick to get around in Nick's house, having memorized it by his second day there, so it stayed by the front door. He only used it at school, or when he went on walks.

He went into the bathroom and turned on the shower, waiting for the water to adjust to the right temperature. He grabbed a towel from a cabinet in the hallway before going back into the bathroom and sitting the towel on the sink. He took off his clothes and stepped into the shower. He pulled the shower curtain closed behind him. He stood there for a moment, just letting the water run over his face and body before reaching over to a shower shelf to get his shampoo.

He put some in his hand and placed the bottle back where it was. He was reaching up to put the shampoo in his hair when a glob fell out of his hand and right into his eye.

Nick pulled up into the driveway. It had been a long day at work with Warrick, and everything else that had gone on. All he wanted to do was lay down in his bed, and crash until it was time for him to go to work again. He got out of his car and walked up to his door and unlocked it. When he opened it, he heard a yell.

His heart raced. Maybe Greg had managed to hurt himself in his house while Nick had left him alone. Nick wouldn't be able to forgive himself if he had. "Greg?" He called out. He ran into the house and looked in the kitchen. No Greg. Good, at least that meant that he hadn't cut himself, or something. He heard another yell. It was coming from the bathroom.

Without thinking, Nick threw open the bathroom door and it banged against the wall, startling Greg, who screamed again. He didn't know who it was in the bathroom with him. Nick yanked the shower curtain away, and Greg screamed again, this time, startling Nick.

"Ah!" Nick screamed.

"Ahh!" Greg screamed again.

"Ah!"

"Ahhh!"

"AH! ….WAIT, WHY ARE WE SCREAMING!" Nick yelled, and then lowered his voice.

"Nick, is that you?" Greg asked, his eyes shut tightly.

"Yeah, I thought you were hurt."

Greg shook his head. "No. I just got some soap in my eye."

Nick let out a breath. "Oh, is that all? I thought you were getting murdered, or something."

"'Is that all?' This shit stings! Let me squirt some of this in your eye, and you tell me if it isn't worse than getting murdered." Greg huffed.

Nick laughed. "Here, let me get you a cup so you can rinse your eye." He ran to the kitchen and got one. "Here."

Greg reached out for it, but slipped.

Nick saw this and grabbed Greg by his waist, holding him against his chest. It was then the Nick noticed how very wet and very _naked_ Greg was. Both men blushed. "Um, er, why don't I help you?" Nick asked.

"Um, okay," Greg said. He allowed Nick to rinse his face without commenting on how tightly the other man was holding him. He was getting Nick's clothes soaking wet, but the other man didn't seem to mind.

"Greg, I need you to open your eye a little bit, so I can flush it," Nick said. Greg did so. Nick carefully flushed his eye until Greg could open both of them without flinching and closing them again.

Greg stared at Nick. "Thanks," he said.

"No problem," Nick said, breathlessly. Being so close to a naked Greg, and looking into Greg's beautiful eyes was doing naughty things to Nick's libido. He really couldn't help himself right now. "Please don't be mad at me," Nick whispered, before leaning in to press his lips to Greg's.

Greg gasped in surprise. He had no idea that Nick felt anything like this for him. He closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around Nick, deepening the kiss.

"What the fuck is going on here!"


	5. That's the End of That

-1A/N: I hope I didn't make you guys wait too long for this update! I had to visit family for a couple of days, and then said family decided to "accompany" me back home and is staying here. I tend to cut back on my updating when people are staying over my house, so be warned.

I've made a small change to the second chapter of i "Amazing Grace" /i . Instead of Nick grabbing Greg's wrist and leading him out of the hospital, Greg holds onto Nick's arm. Apparently, blind people don't like to be pulled around. I didn't exactly know how to approach that whole scene, so I'd like to thank Wildcard for setting me straight, and helping me out with it. She also told me of a program that allows blind people to search/read on the internet.

Warrick drove to Nick's house, hoping to catch the other man before he got home. He was worried about Nick. All throughout the week, he'd seen Nick be very happy, giddy, for no reason at all (at least for no reason that he would tell about), and then he would spend most of his time off in his own world. The only time he seemed to come alive and become his old self was when he was about to go home.

Which was why Warrick was headed his way with a six pack and junk food. He planned to knock back a few beers with Nick and get him to open up about what's been going on with his life. He suspected that whatever it was that Nick was worried about was bigger than one of his siblings being gay. There was something Nick wasn't telling him, and that wasn't acceptable. The other man didn't have to tell him everything, but if something was being kept from him, then it must be something that he should have known in the first place, being Nick's friend.

He'd only missed Nick by about five minutes, and when he pulled up in front of Nick's home, he could already see Nick's car outside. He got out of his car, and that's when he noticed that Nick's front door was wide open. A jolt of fear went through him. He quietly made his way into the house, and a thousand scenarios went through his mind, all of them ending with Nick hurt. Warrick really wished that he hadn't left his piece back in his locker. He heard strange sounds coming from the bathroom.

He walked up to the open door and stood outside, taking a deep breath. He pivoted on his right foot and stood in the doorway. He was stunned by what he saw. It wasn't what he had thought it was, that's for sure.

"What the fuck is going on here!" He hadn't meant to say it out loud, it was merely a thought zooming through his head that had somehow jumped-route and tumbled out of his mouth. Honestly, who could control what they were saying when they had just walked in on someone the considered their best friend doing something that he'd never thought said best friend would do in a million years? Not Warrick.

Nick jerked back from Greg. He turned and his heart felt like it was trying to escape out through his mouth. i 'I am not seeing Warrick standing right there, staring at me kissing Greg. Warrick is not standing right there, staring at me kissing Greg. Nope, I'm not.' /i But Warrick looked to be pretty solid and exactly where Nick didn't want him to be.

Greg yelped and covered himself with his hands. He put Nick between himself and the unfamiliar voice. "Nick, who is that?" He asked.

Nick looked down at him and then back at Warrick. "It's my friend…." i 'At least I hope he still is.' /i "Warrick. He works with me. He's a CSI, too." He searched for something to say, but found that he couldn't really start up a conversation with a naked Greg against his chest, and rapidly cooling shower spray making both of them shiver. "Um, Warrick, would you mind waiting out in the living room for me?" He asked.

Warrick looked like he wanted to say something then and there, but he restrained himself and nodded. "Don't take too long." He glanced over at Greg. "We've got a i lot /i to discuss." He walked out of the bathroom and waited for Nick in the living room.

Nick busied himself with turning off the shower.

"Your friend didn't sound too happy…." Greg said.

Nick reached over and got the towel from the sink. He handed it to Greg. "I doubt that he is." He tried not to watch as Greg dried himself off.

Greg wrapped the towel around his waist and stepped out of the tub. He sighed. "Look, if I've done anything wrong-"

"You haven't. Don't think that for a second," Nick said, vehemently. "This is just the result of something I've been putting off for a long time."

"Let me guess, you've never told him that you're gay, and now that he's walked in on you kissing and groping a naked man in the shower-"

"Excuse me, but there was no groping…yet," Nick interrupted.

Greg shuddered. He continued. "There isn't really any way for you to say, 'it isn't what it looks like, I swear!' Is there?"

Nick smiled. "No, I guess not." He leaned forward, grasping Greg's chin, kissing him deeply, again. He pulled away. "I'm gonna go in there and talk to him, so…."

"I'll be in my room getting dressed, my ear pressed closely to the door." Greg said, walking away.

Nick laughed and shook his head. Leave it to Greg to crack jokes at a time like this. He knew that Greg was joking about the whole 'ear pressed closely against the door,' thing…he hoped.

He gathered his wits and walked into the living room. Warrick was already sitting down on the couch. He made to get up. Nick raised his hand to stop him. "No, before you say anything, I just wanted to tell you that I really value your friendship. You've always been there for me when I needed you. I know that you don't like it, and you probably think it's something despicable, but I am what I am. What you saw is what I do. I love you like a brother, but I won't change for you, or anyone else. I won't hide it, anymore. That man in there…I think that he might be the one for me. If you can't handle that, then we're just going to find some way to work together without talking to each other and…." He seemed to run out of steam.

Warrick was flabbergasted. His best friend, a friend whom, until now, he thought was the epitome of heterosexuality had just come out to him. A debate waged in his head. Dismiss a four year friendship because Nick didn't date the people that he thought he did, or see past all that a keep one of the few people who actually meant something in his life. It was a short debate. He stood up.

Nick sighed. He thought that Warrick had gotten up to storm out, so he stepped aside, but he was wrong. He was enveloped in strong arms and Warrick's scent filled his nostrils. He inhaled deeply. After the shock wore off, he lifted his arms and hugged his best friend back. He laughed.

Warrick pulled back and crossed his arms. "What's so funny? I'm trying to get in touch with my feminine side for you, and you laugh? This is the last time that I comfort you after you come out to me," he said.

Nick laughed again. "Warrick, you can't really come out to the same person twice. That's not why I was laughing, though. I was just so convinced that you didn't like gay people. I was going on what you said about my sister, who, by the way, actually isn't a lesbian."

Warrick frowned. "I only said what I said because I thought that's what you wanted to hear. I thought that i you /i didn't like that fact that she was gay. I mean, you i are /i from Texas. They aren't exactly known for being gay-friendly over there."

Nick nodded. "Okay, I'll give you that." He rubbed at the back of his neck. "So we're cool? You're okay with all this?"

Warrick smiled and nodded. "Yeah. I mean, it's not my thing, so I don't really understand it, but I know that you're the same guy that I've always known, and you're a good guy. What you do in your bedroom has nothing to do with me. Although…." Warrick looked off towards what was now Greg's room.

"What?" Nick asked.

"Exactly how long have you been gaying it up with this guy?" Warrick asked, turning back to look at Nick.

Nick snorted. He'd humor Warrick for right now. "As of right now…." He looked at his watch. "Twenty-three minutes and forty-two seconds," He said.

Warrick again frowned. "Nick, I didn't think that you were the kind for one night stands."

"Oh, I'm not. I've known him for about week."

"But you just said…." Warrick looked confused.

Nick smiled. "I've known him for almost a week, but things have only just progressed right now to where I could hopefully say that we're in a relationship."

Warrick laughed and punched Nick in the arm. "Man, you almost had me thinking that you were a skank, or something. That's definitely not the Nicky I know." He watched as Nick grimaced and rubbed at the sore spot on his arm. "Why don't you ask him back out here? I'd like to get to know him a little, see if he's good enough for you."

It was Nick who looked off into the direction of Greg's room, this time. "Oh, he's good enough, trust me. I sometimes wonder if I'm good enough for him," he said.

"You are, trust i me, /i " Warrick said.

Nick flushed, touched by his words. He was about to turn to go and get Greg, when he remembered something important. "Oh, um, I just wanted to let you know that he's blind."

"Blind?" Now it made sense why the guy had asked who it was, instead of looking over Nick's shoulder and simply seeing for himself. Warrick had thought that maybe the guy was just too embarrassed at being caught in the nude making out with Nick. "Okay, I can handle that. Thanks for telling me ahead of time. I probably would have made a fool of myself, or something."

"You, Warrick? Make a fool of yourself? i Never, /i " Nick said, laughing as he walked to Greg's room. He knocked softly on Greg's door.

"Greg, can I come in?" He asked.

"Yeah, come on in," Greg said.

Nick opened the door and came in. Greg was sitting on his bed, putting on his shoes, already fully dressed. "Um, Greg, my friend wants to meet you."

"This is a friendly meeting, right? I don't want any of that 'You faggot son of a bitch, you stole my friend and made him gay. Give him back! GRRR! ARRGH!'" Greg said.

Nick stared at Greg for a long time. "You listen to too much TV." He shook his head, and walked out of the room, Greg trailing behind him. They came to a stop in front of Warrick.

Nick introduced the two. "Warrick, this is Greg Sanders. Greg, this is Warrick Brown." He'd purposely left any titles out, because he honestly didn't know what to call the fledgling thing that he now had with Greg.

"Hi, Warrick, it's nice to meet you." Greg held out his hand.

"Hey, Greg, it's nice to meet you, too." Warrick took his hands in his and gave it a hearty shake. When Greg had heard Warrick's voice, he stared in his direction. Warrick's breath hitched. He had never seen such odd eyes. All of his life, he'd been told how unique his eyes were, but they seemed to pale in comparison to the other man's. "Wow, your eyes are something else…." He remembered that Greg was blind. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

Greg laughed. "Don't worry about it, I get that occasionally. One of the colors I do remember from when I could still see was the color of my eyes. I never really thought much of them, but I guess they aren't exactly common."

Nick stored that little piece of information away to bring up later.

Warrick smiled, still looking a little embarrassed. "I know, I thought the same about mine. After so many people tell you how special your eyes are, you just wish to have the same color eyes as everyone else, sometimes."

"Exactly."

Warrick and Greg continued to talk about random things. They were surprised to find out that they had a lot in common, like their strong relationships with their grandparents, and love of music.

Warrick had sent Nick out to get the beers and junk food from his car, and Nick was happy to oblige. Greg and Warrick seemed to be getting along so well, that he didn't want to try and butt in.

Warrick took the beers from Nick. He got one out for himself and Greg. "You of age?"

Greg smiled and nodded, taking the beer from his hand. "Yeah, twenty-two." They were both sitting down on the couch while Nick poured come chips into a bowl in the kitchen.

Warrick nodded his head. "I don't know if you knew this, but you kinda look like jailbait. I was worried that Nicky had gotten himself into something foolish." He laughed and took a sip of his beer. "You know, that's a pretty big age gap, ten years," he said, trying to gauge Greg's reaction.

Greg did look a little surprised. "You don't say?" He turned towards the kitchen. "Hey, Nick, you're thirty-two?" He yelled across the room.

Nick sighed and picked up the bowl, bringing it into the living room and sat it down on the coffee table. He sat down on the recliner adjacent to the couch. "Warrick's been talking about me while I was gone?"

Greg rolled his eyes. "No, I'm a closet mathematician. That number just magically popped into my head. Stop stalling. So, are you a dirty old man after my young boy flesh?" Greg asked, smirking.

It was Nick's turn to roll his eyes. "No, I'm not some dirty old man, but I am thirty-two." He conveniently left out the 'wanting Greg's young boy flesh' part, because, truthfully, he did.

Warrick laughed and looked at Nick pointedly, letting him know that he hadn't missed that.

Nick had the grace to blush. "If anyone's the dirty old man in here, it's Warrick. He's even older than me. He's thirty-four."

"Oh, don't drag me into this," Warrick said. He reached over and got a handful of chips, stuffing them into his mouth.

"Yeah, don't drag him into this," Greg said, smiling. He leaned back and ran a hand down his chest and stomach. He knew that Nick's eyes were on him. "Besides, I think older men are hot. Can't you tell?" It was a little forward…okay a i lot /i forward for Greg, but he was feeling a little daring and a lot playful.

Nick followed the path of Greg's hand, wishing that he wasn't wearing an old t-shirt that had seen better days. He was nearly salivating when Greg's hand came to rest on the inside of his thigh.

Warrick looked between Nick and Greg. "Okay! I take it back. Stop it with the gayness, I can't handle it!" He shielded his eyes, pretending to be sick into his beer.

Everyone laughed at that. Greg picked up a throw pillow and launched it at Warrick. It bounced off of his forehead.

"How did you i do /i that?" Warrick asked, picking up the pillow.

Nick laughed. "I think that means he likes you."

I was Friday, and Greg had gone on the internet on Nick's laptop, with the help of a screen reader he'd asked Nick to install, to rent a storage space at the local storage facility. He also rented a U-Haul.

Nick drove them over to Greg's old apartment and they arrived at about 12:30 in the afternoon to give themselves plenty of time cushion to go back home and finish what they hadn't been able to finish at home because Warrick had been there for nearly the entire day until they had to go to bed. Nick had a feeling that Warrick was being difficult on purpose because he knew that after the initial small talk, both of them wanted him to leave. Warrick kept on throwing smug looks at him the whole time.

Nick parked the truck on the street. "Okay, we're here. I parked right in front of the building," he told Greg.

Greg nodded and got out of the truck followed by Nick. Nick went to the back of the truck to get empty boxes. He had been oddly quiet on the trip there. It bothered Nick somewhat, though he didn't know why.

They walked up to the door, and Nick rang the doorbell. He could feel the now familiar vibration of thunderous steps under his feet. He squared his shoulders. The door swung open.

Brad's figure filled the doorway. "Oh, it's i you /i ," he sneered.

"Yeah, it is," Greg said, in a flat voice. He brushed past Brad into the apartment. Nick was a little surprised by his boldness. Brad had thrown Greg out on his ear, yet Greg had just brushed past him like he didn't mean anything.

Brad seemed to be a little surprised by his actions, too, and it only served to make him even more annoyed at the younger man. "It's about fucking time you got your ass over here and got your shit. Another day, your shit would have been all over the front lawn!" He yelled after Greg's retreating back. Greg didn't respond. Brad turned his attention to Nick who was still standing outside. "Don't touch any of my shit. If I come and see any of my shit missing, you're gonna deal with it, got it?"

"Yeah, whatever," Nick growled. He wanted nothing more than to wiped the sneer off the other man's face, but he wanted to get this over with as soon as possible, so he never had to see Brad again, and he and Greg could start their relationship off right with nothing hanging over their heads. At least, nothing like Brad and his bad attitude.

Brad allowed him in and disappeared into his room, slamming the door.

Nick went to Greg's room saw him pulling things out of the drawer and throwing them on the bed. Nick sat the empty boxes down and walked over to him. "You alright?" He asked, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Greg stopped what he was doing and sighed. "Yeah. I just can't wait until I don't have to come back here. He's been like that ever since I came here, but I was too afraid to tell my parents. He didn't always want to, you know, sleep with me. That's more of a recent thing. One day, he just said that I should stop flaunting myself around here, or do something about it. I didn't even know that brushing your teeth could be a turn on for some people." Greg laughed, humorlessly. "You know what the funny thing is?" He continued. "My parents thought that I would be safer, better off, if I lived with someone. Go figure, huh?" He turned towards Nick.

Nick took his face in his hands. "You are safer. You're safer here with me, where you belong." He leaned forward and claimed Greg's lips in a gentle kissed that Greg returned, eagerly. They broke apart after a moment. Nick clapped his hands together. "Okay, now let's get this stuff packed and ready to go!" He said, eagerly.

They spent the next couple of hours packing Greg's things. Greg sorted his things into boxes, while Nick took the heavier things like furniture to the truck. Nick had just taken the bed frame to the truck, when Greg heard someone walk up behind him. Someone with loud footsteps.

"Brad, what do you want? I don't have any of your stuff," Greg said, not pausing putting his clothes into a box.

"Shit, I almost forgot that you could do that," Brad said. He grabbed Greg's shoulder and turned him around.

"Get your hands off me!" Greg hissed. He slapped the offending hand away.

Brad sneered. "What, am I not allowed to touch you? Or did your little boyfriend say that I couldn't?" He asked.

Greg sighed. He wasn't going to dignify Brad with an answer.

"Why aren't you talking, huh? You were always such a fuckin' chatterbox, before."

"Leave me alone, Brad. I just want to get my stuff and go home," Greg said, trying to finish packing.

Brad smirked. "And where is that? With that guy? What, I wasn't good enough for you? You had to get another guy who'd give you what you wanted?"

Greg laughed. "Okay, there's two things wrong with what you just said. Number one, assholes aren't good for anybody. Two, when have you ever given me anything, think about it? I couldn't even get furniture because you didn't want to give up any of your space in the living room. Same thing for the rest of the house."

"Is that what you want? For me to give you things, give you space?" Brad asked, stepping closer to Greg, invading his personal space. "If you come back and give me what i I /i , I'll think about giving you what you want." He put his arms around Greg.

Greg put his hangs against Brad's chest, trying to push the larger man away. "Brad, let me go!"

"Come on, don't be like that." Brad held him even tighter and tried to kiss him.

"I think you'd better listen to what he says, or you'll be dealing with me."

Brad turned around and looked at Nick.

Greg took his distraction as an opportunity to get away. He pushed away from Brad and moved over to Nick.

Nick had been enraged when he came back into Greg's room and saw Brad holding Greg. The guy had just gone over the line of what Nick was willing to accept. When Greg came over to him, he moved them away from the door, a reassuring hand on Greg's back. "Get out," he said to Brad.

Brad sneered at him. "Don't tell me what to do in my own fucking home! Just because you get to fuck him, doesn't mean anything. He's a slut, he'll spread 'em for anyone. You'd be lucky if you don't catch anything. All my friends have had, him, don't you know? He's trash! He's-"

The last thread of Nick's control snapped. He walked forward and punched Brad in the face. The other man fell to the ground. Nick jumped on him, raining blows down on him wherever his fists could make solid contact. Brad could only attempt to shield his face, which wasn't working very well.

"Nick! Nick, please stop!" Greg pleaded. He came forward and laid his hand on Nick's shoulder.

Nick jumped at the contact. He looked over at Greg, panting. He'd almost forgotten that he was there, he was so focused on the red haze that seemed to come over him. He looked back down at Brad. He'd really done some damage. He got off the other man and backed away.

Brad sat up and spat out blood. His nose looked like it was broken. "You son of a bitch! I'm callin' the cops." He flinched when Nick came back over to him and thrust something in his face.

Nick held out his ID. "I i am /i the police."

Brad's eyes widened.

Nick put his wallet back into his pocket, and stepped back once again. "Now get the fuck out of here. If I see you anywhere near this room before we've finished packing, I'll finish the job," Nick said, menacingly.

Brad sneered, but got up and left the room anyway.

Nick and Greg packed up the rest of his things, no Brad to get in their way for the rest of the afternoon.

They made it home by five o'clock.

A/N: Shakes hands Woo! I didn't think I was gonna make it. Carpal tunnel, for sure! nn"


	6. Only If You Let It

-1Greg and Nick lay, splayed out on Nick's bed, both too tired to do anything even remotely intimate. Greg hadn't owned many things while he was living with Brad, so it hadn't taken them much time at all too pack it up and then take it to storage and unpack it. They'd dropped the truck off, and driven Nick's car back home and were laying in an exhausted heap by 4: 53 p.m.

Greg sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Nick?"

Nick only turned his head slightly towards him, his eyes still closed. "Hmm?"

"What…what would you say if I was what Brad claimed?"

At that Nick opened his eyes and turned his whole body towards Greg, staring at his profile. "What are you talking about?"

Greg put a hand over his eyes. "I mean, what if I had slept with Brad's friends?" He asked quietly.

Nick froze. He had never believed what Brad had said for a second, but was Greg really telling him that it was all true? Before then, Nick hadn't even thought of Greg having sex with anyone before, which was unfounded, but it's what he'd thought. He let out a big breath. "If that's true, then…." He tried to search for the right words. "It's something that I'll accept. I mean, There's things about my past that you don't know, people, so who am I to judge what you did before we even met?"

Greg let out a hitching breath and bit his lip, which alarmed Nick.

He sat up on his elbow and placed his hand on Greg's hip. "Look, I meant what I said. Don't worry about it. There's nothing about you that would make me not like you anymore."

Greg removed his hand, but his eyes were still closed, tears clung to the lashes. "Yes, there is!" He pushed Nick's hand away from him and rolled over onto his side so that his back was facing him.

Nick sat up. "Tell me, then."

Greg wrapped his arms around himself. "I don't even remember sleeping with them," he whispered.

Nick frowned. "What do you mean?" He asked.

Greg sighed. "All I remember is, one night, Brad was having a party over at the apartment, and he'd invited all his guy friends over. I don't remember exactly what is was for, some random frat-type party, or something. There were a couple of girls there," he stopped for a moment before continuing. "I was drinking, too. I remember being so glad that Brad had actually let me come out and party with them. I usually stay in my room and out of his way," he said. "All I remember was partying with them and then waking up the next morning, naked in the bathroom with Brad standing over me, telling me he had to piss. He said 'I know my friends didn't wear you out that much. Get your lazy ass up off my floor, or do you wanna have a go with me, too?.'" His breath hitched again. "I was so horrified. I stayed in my room the whole day, only coming out to take a shower. I didn't do anything but go to school and stay in my room for about a week. After that, I finally went and got myself tested. Everything came up negative, but…."

Nick stared at him, shocked. "Was it consensual?" He asked.

"I don't know! I told you I don't remember anything."

Nick was silent. He didn't know what to say.

Greg misinterpreted his silence as disgust. He sniffed. "I can understand if you don't want to be with me anymore-"

"No!" Greg jumped and Nick lowered his voice. "No, I still want to be with you. You're a great guy, and I've come to care about you a lot. I just wish I knew what to say, how to fix things…." He wanted to touch Greg, but he didn't know how the other man would react to it.

Greg turned back towards him, his hazel eyes filled with sadness. "There is nothing for you to do. As long as I know that you still want me after what I've just told you…" It was Greg who reached out to touch him, this time. He reached out and wrapped his arms around Nick, pulling himself closer. He then rested his head against Nick's stomach as he closed his eyes. Nick recognized this as a silent plea for comfort and gently combed his hands through Greg's hair.

After a moment, he pulled Greg up and grabbed Greg's face between his hands and kissed him, soundly.

Greg moaned into the kiss. He wrapped his arms around Nick's neck and added more heat to the kiss, draping himself on Nick.

Nick ran his hands down Greg's sides, then pushed him, firmly, but gently, to come and lie on the bed. He ran his hands under Greg's shirt , mapping how every muscle felt underneath his fingertips.

Reluctantly, the both parted both for lack of air, and for the change to rid themselves of the barrier of their shirts. They resumed the kiss, both of their hands searching and memorizing.

Greg opened his legs to allow Nick within the cradle of his hips. Nick began grinding against him. Greg groaned with the contact. He put his hands on Nick's ass, adding pressure.

Nick pulled back and looked at Greg. His eyes were closed, his cheeks flushed, his lips bruised from his kisses…it was the sexiest thing Nick had ever seen. He leaned back in for a brief kiss before leaning back on his heels and beginning to unbutton his fly. Greg heard this and began to do the same. I wasn't long before both men were divested of their clothing.

The initial contact without the barrier of clothing took both men's breath away. The sliding of their cocks against each other without their boxers and jeans in the way was exquisite.

Greg reached a hand between them and grasped Nick's hard cock that was already leaking pre-cum and began to stroke it. Up and down.

Nick turned his head and shuddered. He pulled Greg's hand away. "You've gotta stop that, or I we'll be finished i way /i too soon," he huffed. Greg just sighed impatiently, pouted, and threw his hands out to his sides.

Nick smiled and shook his head. Greg was way too adorable for his own good. He reached over him and opened his nightstand, searching for the lube. He thrust the bottle into Greg's hands.

Greg raised and eyebrow, questioningly. "No condoms?"

Nick leaned down and kissed him. He pulled back. "Don't need 'em." He smiled.

Greg smirked. "Oh, I get it. You're clean, I'm clean, so let's get dirty. Is that it?" He asked, innocently.

Nick snorted. "Yeah, something like that." He nudged Greg's hand that held the lube with his own. "Put some in my hand."

The smirk was suddenly gone from Greg's face. He nodded and flipped open the bottle single-handedly and poured some into Nick's hand before tossing the bottle onto the bed. He hooked his hands behind his knees and lifted them, exposing himself to Nick. No, he was offering himself to Nick. Something he had never given to anyone else.

And, somehow, Nick knew this. With his dry hand, he reached down to caress Greg's balls, then his engorged member. He slid his hand further, gently caressing his stomach and then his hand came to land over his heart. It was beating a mile a minute. He gently kissed an earlobe. "Just relax," He whispered.

Greg let out a breath. "I'm alright," he said. "I'm not glass. Let's do this."

Nick chuckled again, but he did reach down and place a liberally lubed finger at Greg's entrance. He circled around it, waiting for the other man to relax somewhat before actually delving inside. "Okay?" He asked, once one finger was inside.

Greg nodded. "Yeah….'sweird, though."

Nick raised an eyebrow. "Weird as in 'Ow, take that thing outta me!' Or weird as in 'this feels weird'?" He asked.

Greg rolled his eyes. "Weird as in 'Don't make me laugh with your finger up my ass', weird. I'm fine. Keep going."

Nick gently thrust his finger in and out before he added another finger. Greg tensed slightly, but he relaxed without much coaxing from Nick. Nick crooked his fingers, searching for that sweet spot that would give Greg pleasure.

Greg arched and moaned, his eyes shooting open. "Oh, God!" Nick smiled and began to lay kisses on his neck and shoulders. He added a third finger.

"W-wait!" Greg grabbed Nick's arms, letting go of his legs, and letting his feet rest flat against the bed.

"Okay," Nick said. He waited a long moment for Greg to relax around his fingers. When he finally did, he gently began to scissor them inside the velvet-soft channel that was grasping him. He reached over and picked up the lube, opening it himself. He gently removed his fingers from inside of Greg and coated his erection. There was just enough lube to grasp Greg's erection and start stroking with just the right amount of friction to have Greg writhing on the bed.

"Please…please, Nick, I want you in me," Greg moaned.

Nick groaned. He let go of Greg's erection and reached down, guiding the head of his cock to Greg's entrance. He pushed forward, the head of his cock entering the other man's body. He looked down. Greg had his eyes screwed tightly shut, his breathing harsh. Nick paused, allowing the other man to adjust to his size. He kissed Greg deeply.

Greg wrapped his arms around Nick's shoulders and his legs around his waist.

Nick took this as his cue to go farther, and he slowly inched his way inside until his balls rested against Greg's ass.

"Nick, wait," Greg panted.

"Okay," Nick said again, thinking that Greg simply wanted him to wait so that he could adjust.

It was partly because of that, but it wasn't the only reason. Nick was surprised when Greg pushed him away slightly. He rested on his elbows.

"Greg, what are you-?" He started.

"Shh, close your eyes," Greg said. Nick did so. Greg reached up and brushed Nick's hair away from his forehead, carding his fingers through the soft hair. He then gently ran his fingers down Nick's face, tracing every one of his features. He gently traced his brow, his trembling eyelids, down his nose and then he held Nick's face in his hands, using his thumb to brush against his slightly parted lips. He pulled Nick in for another breath-taking kiss. He pulled back so that their lips barely touched as he spoke.

"Now, make love to me."

How could Nick have said no to that? He pulled back and then thrust back in, slowly. After a few more experimental thrusts, he found an angle where he could hit Greg's prostate and aimed for it on every thrust. Greg was crying out and clawing at Nick's back with every thrust.

"Oh, please, fuck me harder!" Greg moaned.

Nick obliged and began to speed up his thrusts, adding more and more force behind them until the whole bed was rocking with their love-making.

Greg's hands had moved south to Nick's ass, clutching at them and pressing him down. His legs tightened around Nick.

"Fuck…about to…"

Nick understood and reached between them to resume stroking Greg's neglected cock. It only took a few strokes before Greg fall over the edge and came, his cum pulsing out hot and thick between them. The contractions of his passage milked Nick's orgasm from him. Nick cried out, giving one last harsh thrust before collapsing onto Greg, his face buried in the crook of Greg's shoulder.

Greg just held him, his legs falling to the side. He was breathing harshly himself, his own cries had left him feeling like he couldn't get enough air in his lungs.

Nick eased out of Greg's body with a sigh and heard an echo of that from his now lover. He rolled over, bringing Greg along for the ride. Greg actually giggled a little. "Oh, my God, did you just giggle?" Nick asked.

Greg shrugged. "I have the right to giggle, right now." He reached behind him, gently touching his well used anus. "You know what?"

"No, what?" Nick mumbled. Sleep was coming up on him fast.

"I don't remember my…ass feeling like this after that night, the night I can't remember," Greg said, incredulously.

Nick looked down at Greg's head on his chest. He leaned back and closed his eyes. He held Greg closer to him. He didn't want to say that he was relieved, because he wouldn't have felt any different if Greg had slept with those guys. He was just glad that, at least for Greg, this wouldn't be hanging over his head any longer. He just settled for giving Greg an affirmative grunt before letting sleep claim him.

A/N: I was gonna save the sex for the last chapter, but then I was like, "If you were in a story with a guy like Greg, would i you /i want to wait until the last chapter to have sex? I don't think so!" Haha! I hope you guys enjoyed it! I'm loving all the reviews you guys give me. They keep me going! I was blushing the whole time I was writing this! nn" Oh, and just in case ya wanted to know (which I doubt you do, -- ) I listened to Mika Nakashima's b i "Stars" /i /b , mostly, while writing this.


	7. Get Ready

-1Nick's eyes fluttered open. He reached up and rubbed at his eyes. It felt like he had barely just blinked and he was awake again. He looked over at his alarm clock. 5:55 p.m. He'd only been asleep for about ten minutes. He looked at Greg. He was no longer lying across Nick, but spooned against Nick's chest. He rubbed a single finger down Greg's shoulder, smiling as Greg shivered and tried to subconsciously move away from the offending digit.

He sighed and resigned himself to the fact that he was going to get up pretty soon to get ready for work. He didn't want to move a muscle. He didn't want to put even an inch of distance between himself and the man he had just made love to. If he concentrated a little, he could still feel the tingling pleasure of his orgasm coursing through his limbs.

He gently extracted himself from the bed, relieved that he hadn't woken Greg. If he had a quick shower, he wouldn't be more than twenty minutes late for work. Grissom would hand him his ass, but it wouldn't be too bad. He knew that he would be coming home to Greg, and that made all of Grissom's potential reprimands seem like nothing.

He padded over to the bathroom and started the shower. I stepped in and ran a bar of soap over his body to save some time. He quickly rinsed himself off and cut off the shower. He headed back into the bedroom, and picked up a towel off the back of a chair that he'd left there earlier. He dried himself and began rummaging through his drawers to find something to wear. The sounds of the drawers opening and closing must have awakened Greg.

"Nick?" Greg's sleepy voice drifted up from behind Nick.

Nick turned around and saw Greg, he had just lifted his head from under Nick's pillow, where he'd stuck it after Nick left the bed. His hair was flat in some places and sticking out wildly in others. Nick couldn't believe how perfect he looked in his bed. "Yeah?"

Greg yawned and stretched. "What time is it?" He asked, falling back down on the bed in a boneless heap.

Nick gave the clock a quick glance. "It's three after six," He got out a pair of boxer-briefs and pulled them on. He got out a pair of slacks and pulled them on as well.

Greg sighed. "I guess that if I get up right now, it won't make much difference. I'm already late for class."

Nick pulled a shirt on over the undershirt he'd just put on. "Shit, I forgot that you had to go to class."

Greg rolled over onto his back and scratched at his ribs. "Don't worry about it. The reason behind my delinquency is well worth a couple of missed credits." He put his hands behind his head and smiled dreamily. "And the tingle in my ass… i definitely /i worth it." He wriggled slightly under the covers.

Nick shuddered, Greg's words going straight to his groin. He took a bit of pride, knowing that he was the one who was the result of Greg feeling that particular sensation, and that he wasn't the only one tingling in places he didn't normally tingle. "I'd say it's worth it." He walked over to the bed and sat down next to Greg. He placed his hands on either side of Greg's head, leaned down and kissed him, chastely. "I have to go to work," he whispered against Greg's lips.

Greg reached up and head Nick's head in place. He licked across Nick's lips and Nick opened his mouth, allowing him access. He swept his tongue around the other man's mouth, their tongues dueled for dominance. Knowing that he probably wouldn't win this round, Greg nibbled on Nick's bottom lip for a moment before pushing him away. "Okay, go to work. Go poke bodies with a stick as you do." He turned around, pulling the covers up over himself. He couldn't hide his smile.

Nick couldn't see him smiling, but he could hear it in his voice. "I believe it's 'a step above poking a body with a stick.'"

Greg snorted. "If you say so."

Nick rolled his eyes, laughing a little, despite himself. He finished dressing and walked out of the room. Right as he was about to head out the door, Greg called out to him.

"So, I guess this means that you won't be picking me up from school for crazed-monkey sex, huh?"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nick walked into the locker room and opened his locker. He reached in and put the dirty change of clothing already there in a small duffel bag, so that he would remember to take them home when he left in the morning.

His home. Where Greg was waiting for him. Beautiful Greg, with his hazel eyes, a bit too thin body, and incredibly tight…Nick shuddered. This was not the place to be thinking of his lover's anatomy. He hurriedly put in what needed to be put in, and took out what needed to be taken out of his locker before anyone could walk in and see him embarrass himself. He closed his locker and walked out.

He walked into the break room where Grissom and Warrick already were. He avoided standing by Grissom and chose to stand next to Warrick on the other side of the table. Grissom looked up and gave him 'the look'.

Nick groaned, inwardly. i 'I am so in for it.' /i He tried smiling innocently at Grissom.

Grissom just raised his eyebrow before looking down at a the manila folder which he had in his hand.

Warrick nudged him with his elbow and leaned in when Nick turned to him. "What's up with you? Why are you late?"

Nick shrugged. "I was helping Greg get the rest of his things form his apartment today. I took a nap, and I guess I must have overslept."

Warrick's eyes narrowed. "I'm not buying it," he said, skeptically.

Nick flushed. "I don't know what you're taking about. Can't a guy just oversleep?" He asked. i 'Oh, man, that sounded weak, even to me.' /i 

Warrick continued to look at his friend for a long time until the proverbial 'light bulb' seemed to come on over his head. His eyes widened. He smirked. "You got laid, didn't you?"

Nick shushed him, looking over at Grissom who was still concentrating on whatever was in the manila folder. "Will you be quiet," he hissed. "I didn't say that."

"But you did get laid, didn't you. I can tell. You glow, and you don't usually glow, at least, not like i this /i you don't."

Nick sighed. There was no getting anything past Warrick once he caught whiff of a secret. He folded his arms. "Okay, so I got laid. Happy?"

Warrick's smirk widened to a smile. "Not particularly, but I'm guessing that i you /i are. And, let me guess, Greg is the proprietor of this happiness, am I right?" He inquired.

Nick blushed, but answered anyway. "Who else would it be?" He asked.

Warrick slung an arm around Nick's shoulders, shaking him a little. "Oh, you sly dog, you. The boy couldn't resist your southern charms, could he? You didn't wear him out too much, did you? I was planning on coming over one of these days and dropping off some mixed CDs for him."

Nick glanced over at Grissom. "We are i so /i not discussing this, here. You know what? We're not going to discuss this at all. What happened to you not wanting to know what goes on in my bedroom, huh?" He asked.

Warrick laughed and let him go. "That still applies. I just love having something on you to make you blush, man." He pinched Nick's cheek and then laughed again as Nick swatted his hand away.

Grissom cleared his throat loudly. Both men jumped a little and turned their attention towards the older man. "If you two are done gossiping, I'd like to give you two your assignment. Since Nick was late," He gave Nick a glare, "I'm going to pair you two together on a rape/homicide. Sara and Catherine have already been given their assignment since they were on time." He gave them the address of the scene and handed Warrick the folder.

Warrick sent an exasperated look Nick's way that said 'Why do I have to suffer because of you!'

Nick only smirked and patted him only the back, giving him a look that said ''Cause you love me, you silly, silly man. Serves you right.'

Warrick just snorted and walked out of the break room, muttering about "Texans and their stupid mind-talk…."

Nick was about to follow, when Grissom called him. "Yeah, Griss?"

"I'll let you slide, just this once, but don't let this Greg make you late again," Grissom said.

Nick was nearly bowled over. "Y-yes, sir. It won't happen again."

Grissom nodded. "Good." Nick started to walk away. "No matter i how /i good the sex may be…."

Nick nearly tripped over himself. He walked out of the room, Grissom's snide laughter at his back. He didn't know how, but the man always managed to knock him of his feet with one thing or another. This time, literally. He couldn't decide whether he wanted Grissom to ream him for being late, or not.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Despite the initial ominous signs, the day turned out to be pretty easy-going. Nick collected samples, Warrick ragged on him about his sex life, and then, finally, it was time to go home.

He walked into the locker room and was about to open his locker when Sara walked up to him.

"Hey, Nick, how's it going?" She asked. She was already dressed to go home.

Nick smiled at her. "Nothing much," he said, opening his locker and pulling out his duffel.

Sara clucked her tongue. "That's not what I heard. Seems like you've got yourself a little bunkmate. Why didn't you tell me you were seeing someone?"

"Who told you that?" Nick asked.

She shrugged. "Stuff gets around quick here, you know that. Last I heard, though, the source was Warrick," she said.

i 'I am going to strangle him!' /i Nick thought. He hadn't come out and told anyone, but it was pretty much common knowledge that he and Sara had had a 'thing' not too long ago. It was supposed to be no strings attached, but it hadn't ended well for either of them. They managed to piece back their friendship and get past the awkwardness of having to work together after the whole ordeal. He ran a hand through his hair. "I am seeing someone, but that's no one's business but mine."

"Well i excuse /i me," Sara said, sarcastically. "I thought that we were friends." She crossed her arms into front of her.

Nick sighed. "We are, but you have to understand, it doesn't feel right for me to talk about these things with you."

"Why?"

"You know why."

Sara pursed her lips. "I just hope she's worth it," she said, and then walked away, leaving Nick alone in the locker room.

Nick waited a few minutes before following the same path she had just taken. He went out to the parking lot and stood by his car. He took out his cell phone. He dialed Warrick's number. He held the phone up to his ear. It picked up on the first ring.

/'Okay, before you strangle me, I just wanted to tell you it wasn't my fault,'/ Warrick said. He'd picked up immediately, seeing Nick's number on the caller ID.

"Oh? And how did you just slip and tell my ex that I'm seeing someone?" Nick asked, irritated.

/'Come one, man, you know how she is. She gets that look on her face, and plays mind games with you. Before you know it, you're telling her your blood type and shoe size. You're used to it. I didn't stand a chance.'/

Nick rubbed his hand over his face. "I do know how she is, but that's no excuse, Rick."

/'I know. At least I didn't tell her that you were seeing a guy. I think she would have freaked. I'll make it up to you, man, I swear,'/ Warrick said.

"You'd better." Nick hung up the phone and got into his car, throwing his bag into the passengers seat. He turned the car on. He pulled out of the parking lot and started to drive home. At a red light, he reached over and turned on the radio. Toby Keith was playing. He turned it up.

By the time he got home, he was singing Rascal Flatts' "What Hurts the Most" under his breath as he unlocked the door. He opened the door and walked in, closing the door behind him. The smell of food cooking greeted him a moment before Greg did.

"Hey, Nick!" Greg walked out of the kitchen in a pair of pajama bottoms and an apron. His hand was on the wall.

i 'When the hell did I get an apron?' /i Nick asked himself. "Hey, Greg. Whatever you're cooking smells good. How did you make all this?" he asked out loud. He grabbed Greg around the waist and kissed him.

Greg laughed and put his arm around Nick's neck and led him into the kitchen. "I wouldn't exactly call it cooking. More like nuking the hell out of stuff." He sat Nick down at the table. He walked over to the counter and retrieved two small plates. On them were two English muffins with sausage, bacon, egg, and cheese inside. "Thank God you have microwaveable sausage and bacon. That, I can do. The egg and cheese, too. The English muffins, of course, went in the toaster. I can't really cook anything more complicated than that until we make some modifications and get some blind-friendly gadgets."

Nick smiled. "Oh, I love a man who can work a microwave." He took a bite of his food. It was pretty good. Better than anything he could make himself, that's for sure. "I'll be sure to look some stuff up," he said around a mouthful of food.

Greg nodded and started to eat his own food. He paused and tugged at the apron he was wearing. "I like this thing. Don't ask me why."

"I won't," Nick said. i 'I'll just have to ask you to wear it with nothing underneath, next time.' /i 

When they finished their meal and Greg had taken off the apron, they moved to the living room. They sat down on the couch and Nick pulled Greg to him. Greg got the remote and cut on the TV.

"What, no cartoons?" Nick asked.

Greg shrugged. "Nah. I decided not to torture you today."

Nick poked Greg in the ribs. "So you admit it? You were drying to give me seizures with those flashy cartoons!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Greg said.

"Uh huh." Nick pulled Greg closer and kissed his hair. They sat there for about thirty minutes in silence before the phone rang. Nick reached over and picked up the phone. He frowned.

"I'm sorry, but I can't understand what you're saying. I think you may have the wrong number," he said.

Greg's head moved from it's place on Nick's shoulder. "Wait, Nick, I think that might be my parents. They speak Norwegian."

"Oh, okay." Nick handed him the phone. He moved his arm from around Greg when he started to pull away. He tried to concentrate on watching the TV, but it wasn't really working. It didn't really matter, though, because he couldn't understand a word that came out of Greg's mouth. He did realize, however, when the conversation was over.

Greg handed him back the phone. "Well, Nick, at about six o'clock this morning, you're going to be meeting my mom, my dad, and Papa Olaf."

Nick put the phone on the charger. He turned back to Greg. "And you were planning on telling me this i when /i ?"

Greg had the grace to get flushed. "I know this is kinda sudden, but I thought that I'd have more time. I guess when my mom said that she was coming to see me, she meant right now." He held his thumbnail between his teeth.

Nick took his hand away from his mouth and replaced it with his own. He pulled away and sighed dramatically. "I guess I'm gonna have to make this place mom-proof, aren't I? No underwear hanging from the ceiling fan, no condoms and lube on display on the nightstand. The usual." He let Greg to pull him into a deeper kiss before pulling them both up so that they could get started on cleaning up the house.

Greg nodded. "Yeah, no me walking around naked…." He walked into the kitchen.

"Yeah, no you walking around…." Nick stopped in his tracks. "Wait! WHEN WERE YOU WALKING AROUND NAKED, AND WHERE WAS I!" He followed Greg into the kitchen. It was another twenty minutes before either of them got any cleaning done.The apron also made a reappearance.

A/N: I'd like to thank Rhardin and methos53089 (Toni) for helping me. Without your help, I'd still be trying to figure out what to call that dang room…sweatdrop --" Hugs for Wildcard for helping me out, once again. BIG thanks to ItGlitters and Dreama for all of their encouragements. And, of course, everyone who's been here reviewing so far. I got some personal stuff going on and it needs to be dealt with ASAP. It'll take a while, but I'll try and update whenever I can. b Shoneé /b 


	8. The Calm Before the StormOr Not

-1Around 6:30 a.m., Greg's mother called again.

Greg answered the phone. "Hello?"

"Hello, Greg, it's your mother. I just wanted to let you know that we've landed safely. We're at McCarran Airport right now," She said.

"Oh, that's good. Are you sure that you don't want me and Nick to come and pick you up?" Greg asked.

"No, Greg, that's okay. We'll take a taxi. I don't want you to bother yourself."

"It's no bother, really, Mom."

"No, no. We've already called one out to us. We'll be over there in no time. Now, are you sure you gave me the right address?" She asked.

Greg told her the address again.

She looked down at the piece of paper that she had written it down on. "Yes, it is right."

"Okay. Tell Papa Olaf that I can't wait for him to get here."

"I will, Greg. I'm sure he'll be happy to hear that. By Greg."

"Bye Mom. Love you."

"Love you, too, sweetie."

Greg hung up the phone and the put it back on the charger. He paced in the living room for a while before he walked into the kitchen and leaned against the counter. He started biting the fingernail of his index finger. He winced as the nail caught on a piece of skin.

"Shit!" He hissed.

Nick walked into the kitchen and saw how worried Greg looked. He heard him curse. "Greg, here, let me see that." He said.

Greg sighed and took his hand from his mouth and head it out for Nick to see.

Nick tsked. "It's bleeding a little. I should get the fingernail clippers and cut the rest of the nail of better it gets even more irritated. Hangnails are a bitch. Sit down in a chair for me," Nick said.

Greg sat down and held his hand in his lap. He waited for Nick to get back with the fingernails clippers. Nick returned with them and kneeled, taking Greg's hand in his again. He carefully cut away the excess nail and cut the rest of the nail so that it was as even as possible.

"There. It shouldn't hurt as much. You shouldn't bite your fingernails. It makes them all short and stubby."

Greg laughed a little. "Would you still love me if I had stubby, raggedly bitten nails?" He asked, jokingly.

Nick was quiet for a moment. "I'd love you even if you bit your toenails," he said, without an ounce of humor in his voice.

Greg bit his lip. He reached out and took Nick's face in his hands and kissed him breathless. He pulled back.

Nick was grinning from ear to ear. "Damn…I'd love you even more if you kissed me like that everyday!"

"Say that after you've seen me biting my toenails all day." Both men laughed.

Nick stood up and pulled Greg up with him. He held him in his arms. "Don't worry. Everything will be fine. I'm sure that they'll see how well I am taking care of you…okay, maybe not i how well /i I'm taking care of you." Nick chuckled. "You get what I mean," he continued. "There's no way that they'll take you home. They'll see how perfect we are together and they wouldn't dare break us apart." He ran the back of his hand down the side of Greg's face.

Greg closed his eyes and sighed. He rested his head on Nick's shoulder. "I wish that's how it would really turn out, but my Papa Olaf is coming. He's…very protective of me. He's the one that's sponsoring my being here in the U.S. He can decide whether or not I stay here, too, probably even more than my parents," Greg said, solemnly.

Nick sighed. "You know, one day, we're going to have to sit down and have a i long /i talk about i everything /i . There's so many things that I've been meaning to ask you, things I want to know, but things keep popping up and I get sidetracked."

"Like what I study at school, why I didn't tell you I knew how to speak Norwegian, and why yet another person holds my future in their hands…stuff like that?"

Nick looked up at the ceiling. "Yeah, stuff like that."

"No time like now," Greg said.

Nick frowned. "No, not now. It seems like I'm trying to learn everything about you before you leave forever."

"I could be."

"That is not right."

Greg shrugged. "Laws are different in Norway. Because of my eyes, I will never have full control of my life."

"Well, fuck the laws!"

"Yeah, yeah, fuck them in the ass….Look, they're not going to change because some blind guy wants to stay in another country with his boyfriend. I don't think life's that simple, Nick." Greg pulled away and walked into the living.

Nick followed after him. "So… what? You'll just pack up and leave if they tell you to? Are you going to give up on us that easily?"

Greg stopped with his back to Nick. He put his head in his hands. "No….Fuck! Can we not do this right now?"

"Then when!" Nick said loudly. He was losing his temper, he knew, but he couldn't help himself. Not when the best thing that had ever happened to him a long time was about to be taken away from him. "When you're on the fucking plane? When you've landed back in fucking Norway? When you're back in your parent's and grandfather's care like some sort of God damned infant? i WHEN! /i " He yelled.

Greg whirled around. "Don't you ever, i ever /i , talk to me like that again or so help me God-!" He jumped when he heard a loud banging. He turned his head towards the front door.

"Greg? Greg, open this door right now!"

A/N: Dun dun duuuuuun! XD Okay, let me just say that I know of no such laws in Norway. Please do not come and pummel me with large foreign law books.


	9. Going Home

Greg's heart felt like it was about to jump out of his chest, it was beating so hard. He took in a deep breath and tried to calm his frazzled nerves. He walked over to the front to and opened it.

"Papa Olaf, I-" He was cut off.

Papa Olaf pushed Greg aside and walked into Nick's house. "What is going on here, Greg?" He said, his thick accent making his words a little hard to understand, which was made worse because he was upset. Someone was yelling at _his_ Hojem? He wouldn't stand for it! "I heard raised voices," he continued. He glared at Nick who stood there somewhat awkwardly.

Greg rubbed at his neck. He was angry at what Nick had said to him, but he didn't want to make matters worse by putting Nick on Papa Olaf's bad side before they even got a chance to meet. "Um…we were just having a bit of disagreement."

Papa Olaf frowned. He walked further into the house and stood in front of Nick, silently sizing the other man up.

Nick tried not to show that he was the least bit intimidated. Papa Olaf was a large man, taller than Nick himself. Nick noticed that Greg and his grandfather looked eerily alike. The only things that were different about them was their age, their builds (the older man was very muscular), their eye colors (Greg's being a unique hazel and Papa Olaf, an icy electric blue), and their hair (Papa Olaf's was jet black with hints of gray showing at the temples). The man looked a lot younger than Nick had imagined.

Nick's jaw tightened as he saw a sneer appear on the older man's face. He looked into the man's eyes and accepted his challenge. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Greg's parents cautiously step into the house.

"What is your name, boy?" Papa Olaf asked.

Nick jammed his hands into his pocket to hid the fact that his hands had balled into fists. He was thirty-two years old! He wasn't young enough to still be called a boy by any stretch of the imagination. "Nick Stokes," he ground out.

"What is it that that you were yelling at my grandson about?" Papa Olaf asked.

Nick's eyes briefly flickered over to where Greg and his parents were still standing. Greg looked apprehensive, even more so than his parents. He was frowning and biting his lip. The sight of the normally vibrant and talkative Greg looking to demure and downtrodden in the presence of his grandfather only managed to serve as a reminder of what he was angry about only moments ago.

"I didn't want him to go back to Norway," Nick said, looking back at the man standing before him.

"That is not your decision, whether or not he is going back. It is up to his parents and myself."

"We were arguing about that, too. I think the laws are shit. You shouldn't be able to control his life. He's a grown man," Nick said.

"Do not comment on matters that you know nothing about. He is blind. There is no way that he could take care of himself. He will always need us to care for him," Papa Olaf said.

"No, he won't. I can take care of what he needs, here," Nick said.

Mrs. Sanders watched her father and Nick volley back in forth in some sort of male posturing mode. She knew how stern and intimidating her father could be, but she could tell that Nick wasn't about to back down from her father so easily, and she silently admired him for that. It was much more than she had ever done.

She laid a hand on Greg's shoulder. Greg jumped. He had been so focused on what was going on with his grandfather and Nick that he hadn't even heard his parents come up behind him.

"I'm sorry for startling you, sweetie," she soothed. "We'd just come up to the door, and your grandfather heard yelling. I could understand what was being said, but I don't think that he was paying attention to that. I'm sorry that we weren't able to calm him before this happened."

Greg reached over and grabbed her hand, holding it in his. "It's okay, Mom. I know how Papa Olaf gets, sometimes. It's not your fault." He continued to listen to his grandfather and Nick argue.

Papa Olaf scoffed at Nick. "Oh? And how will you be able to do that? You know nothing of what he needs. You're just a stranger to him and to me!"

"Not to Greg, I'm not. I know him better than you know. I care for him in a way that you can't. I love him!" Nick said. He probably shouldn't be saying this to the man that held Greg's future in his hands, a man he'd just met, a man who obviously disliked him, but he couldn't let his love for Greg be dismissed without even being acknowledged.

Papa Olaf's mouth snapped shut. His jaw clenched, and Nick could have sworn that the older man had stopped breathing all together. He looked at Nick for a long moment before slowly turning his head and looking at his grandson.

Greg bit his lip. He felt like crying right now. His face was blotchy and red from trying to keep it in. He really hadn't wanted Nick to say that he loved him to his grandfather. His grandfather was a homophobe if there ever was one. He didn't even know that Greg was gay. Greg had never found the heart, nor the courage to tell him, fearing how he'd react. He would have told him eventually, when his and Nick's relationship had time to solidify, and their bond to became deeper. They wouldn't have that chance, now. A single tear ran down his cheek as all the fears, and all the insecurities that he'd been repressing since he'd come to stay with Nick bubbled back to the surface.

Papa Olaf's heart clenched, seeing the answer he needed written on Greg's face. His precious Hojem, the precious son of his heart was…in b love /b with this man? He turned back to Nick. This man was much older than Greg. Greg was just a boy! He must have brainwashed his grandson into thinking that he loved him. The man was a pervert!

With a roar, he hauled back and punched Nick square on the jaw, knocking him on the ground.

If the man hadn't yelled like some inhumane animal, Nick wouldn't have expected the hit that flew towards him. He didn't have enough time to react, though, and he took the brunt of the blow, falling to the floor. He laid there, dazed.

"Papa!" Greg screamed. He could tell what had happened, but he couldn't believe it. He rushed forward and a pair of hands caught him before he could get to Nick.

Papa Olaf looked down at Greg. "Do not touch him, Greg. He is filth! He has filled your mind with unnatural things, and I will not have you subjected to it any longer. We are leaving!" He said. He let Greg go, only to turn him around and grab Greg's arm in his hand. He knew that Greg didn't like to be pulled around, but he would have to endure it for his own good.

Greg struggled against his grandfather's hold. "Papa, no! Please, don't make me go back! I want to stay here with Nick. I love him!" He cried out as Papa Olaf's grip tightened painfully at his words. "Ow! Papa, you're hurting me!" Tears were flowing down his face now. His Papa Olaf had never hurt him before.

Papa Olaf loosened his grip only marginally, but didn't let him go. "Can you not see that he is hurting you? He has you brainwashed!" He yelled.

"No, Papa, you don't understand. I love him, and he loves me. I know that you don't like that idea of two men loving each other, but we do. Nick doesn't have me brainwashed."

Papa Olaf's eyes narrowed again. He pulled Greg closer to him. "Has he had sex with you, Greg? Do not lie to me!" He hissed.

Greg flushed in embarrassment and bit his lip again, looking down.

With a yell that was even more animalistic than the first, he started to yank Greg towards the door again. He ignoring Greg as he cried out at the pain that shot up his arm, and the fingers that weakly clawed at his hand.

Greg was sobbing so harshly now, that he could barely stand up. He tried to get his grandfather's hand off of him, but that only made the man throw his arm around his waist and continue to drag him outside.

His parents stood helplessly by the door, stunned by the whole scene that was unfolding, and the revelation that their only son was gay and in a sexual relationship with another man. They felt that they should do something, but they knew that they couldn't. Papa Olaf had been nothing but good to Greg up until now, and he was taking care of them. He took care of the whole family. He had even paid for the plane tickets to fly all three of them out to Las Vegas. Papa Olaf was a rich and powerful man in Norway, and it wouldn't be wise to cross him on any level.

Papa Olaf dragged a sobbing Greg out to the cab that was still waiting. Earlier, they had only just stepped out of the cab when he had heard the yelling from the house, and he hadn't paid the driver before he ran up to the house to investigate. The driver had stayed to wait for them to come back so that he could get his fare.

Greg parent's followed them outside silently. Mrs. Sanders had tears in her eyes, and Mr. Sanders stared stonily ahead, trying not to hear his son's cries.

Papa Olaf reached forward and opened the car door.

When Greg heard the sound of the car door being opened, he really began to panic. This was really happening! He was going to be taken away from Nick! He began to scream.

"No, Papa! Please, no! I'll do anything, just don't take me back!" He sobbed.

The sound of Greg being so distraught normally would have awakened the soft, compassionate part of him, but this time, Papa Olaf was so enraged that it didn't register. "Be quiet! It is for your own good!" He said, before he pushed Greg into the cab.

In the house, Nick had finally come to his senses. He stood up, rubbing his jaw. "Fuck! The asshole sucker punched me! Motherfucker!" He turned towards the door, hearing Greg screaming outside. "Greg!" He ran outside, and his heart nearly stopped. "No! Leave him alone!" He yelled, running towards the cab.

Papa Olaf, turned, hearing Nick. He turned to his daughter and her husband. "Get in!" He commanded.

They complied without hesitation. Mr. Sanders sat in the front, while his wife sat in the back with their son. Papa Olaf ran over to the other side of the cab and got in, putting Greg in between him and his daughter. He ignored Greg pushing against him, trying to get him away from him. He looked up at the stunned cabdriver. "Take us back to the airport!" He said. He threw a wad of money at the driver.

The driver nodded, picking up the money. He gave on last pitying look at Nick before he floored the ignition and speed out of sight.

Nick had only been feet away from the cab when it speed out of his reach. "No!" He shouted. He fell to his knees right there in the street. He didn't care if the neighbors saw him. The best thing in his life had be torn away from him. He put his hands in his hair and pulled, not caring about the pain, or the hairs that were being pulled free of his scalp. "No, no, no!" He repeated over and over. How could if have all gone wrong so quickly? He let go of his hair, put his face in his hands and cried.

Greg had cried himself tired as they rode to the airport. He had moved himself as far away from his grandfather as he could possibly get while sitting between him and his mother. His head had lolled against her shoulder a long time ago, his tears wetting and staining her blouse.

Mrs. Sanders had her arm around her son, holding him against her. Her heart broke for her son, and she felt like she didn't deserve to be called his mother for subjecting him so much pain. While she, herself, didn't agree with same-sex relationships, Greg was her son and she wouldn't have handled him falling in love with another man like her father had. The job of being a parent to Greg was quickly being taken over by her father. The tears finally started falling from her eyes as she looked out of the car window at the Nevada desert passing by.

How would she ever be able to make this up to him?

A/N: Woah….don't hurt me for doing this to Greg and Nick! It just came out that way, I swear! Backs away, slowly Hee hee…. RUNS!

Listened to: **Rain- "Nan" & "11 Days"**


	10. Is It Worth It?

Listened to: **Maggie Gyllenhaal- _"Just the Way You Are"_**

Nick was jerked out of his sorrow-filled reverie by the shrill sound of a horn blaring next to him. His head snapped up and he nearly jumped out of his skin and the sound. He looked into the car at a man who was tapping impatiently on his steering wheel. Behind the man, Nick could see the heads of two kids looking over their father's shoulder to see what was going on.

It took a moment for Nick to comprehend what the man wanted from him, but it finally clicked after a moment and he dragged himself up and moved out of the street. Nick barely made it to the curb before the man started to accelerate.

"Daddy, was that man crazy?" Nick heard as the car passed by. He sat down on the curb. Was he crazy? Nick doubted it, but he knew he was a complete and total wreck.

Nick put his head in his hands. He didn't even care about the fact that a man had so carelessly brushed him aside even though he was crying in the middle of the street in front of his children. What state society might be in right now was the farthest thing form Nick's mind.

"Greg…." He stood up and ran back into the house. He knew that he must not have been outside for too long because a car passed by his home nearly every five minutes and the one he'd just encountered must have been the first one, unless he was too out of it to notice one before that. Once inside, he could hear that the phone was ringing. He didn't feel like talking to anyone, but he picked up the phone anyway, out of habit.

"Hello?"

"_Hey, Nicky, it's me, Warrick. I was just calling to ask you if now would be a good time to bring over those cds for Greg I was talking about earlier,"_ Warrick said.

Nick sniffed and rubbed at his nose with his sleeve. He felt so helpless, like a baby, and he hated it. He briefly thought of the harsh words he'd spoken to Greg before his parents and grandfather had arrived. He could recall how angry Greg had been when he turned around and, underneath that, the wounded and hurt look that came through his unseeing eyes. His heart clenched. He closed his eyes. "Um, no. Now's not a good time, Warrick," he tried to say as evenly as possible. His efforts didn't sound successful to his own ears.

"_Hey, man, you okay? You sound kinda off,"_ Warrick said, sounding concerned.

Nick rubbed at his chest. He couldn't get the feeling in his heart to go away. He couldn't get the image of Greg being hurt by him out of his mind. Should he really? He deserved it, didn't he? He deserved to see the look of pain on Greg's face over and over again. It would serve him right if he was having a heart attack right now.

"_Nicky?"_ Warrick said.

"Fuck!" He shouted. He'd made a mess of everything. If only he'd kept a hold on his temper, none of this would happened. Greg wouldn't have been hurt by him, he would have met Greg's parents and his Papa Olaf under better circumstances, and he could have possibly had the chance to win them over, in time. Greg would still be here with him. "I've screwed everything up! It's all gone so wrong." The last part was said so quietly that Warrick could barely make out what he said.

"_What's gone wrong, Nick?"_ Warrick asked. _"Does it have something to do with Greg?"_

"Yes….shit! The look on his face…I may as well have hit him," Nick said.

"_Whoa, whoa, back up! I don't understand what you're trying to say. Why don't you start from the beginning. Take a deep breath and tell me when you're ready,"_ Warrick said.

Nick took a deep breath and told him everything that had happened. From Greg's roommate, to Greg's grandfather sucker punching him and dragging Greg away in a cab to fly back to Norway, it all came out surprisingly easy, like word vomit, the words just spilled out of him. They were still painful, nonetheless. By the end of it all, Nick was on the verge of tears again, but this time, he held them back, his anger at Greg's grandfather pushing to the forefront.

_"**Damn**_…." Warrick cursed. _"Why does this shit always happen to you? Can't you catch a break?"_ Warrick asked to no one in particular. _"Isn't there any way that you could stop them from getting on that plane?"_ He asked.

Nick ran a hand over his face. "I could try, but I doubt it. I already told you about the laws they have there in Norway. If I do anything, I could be persecuted. I don't think that Greg will go against those laws, either. He seemed pretty resolute when he told me that his grandfather could take him back home if he chose. That man seems to be ruling over his family with an iron fist. Greg's parents just stood by and watched the whole thing, like they were too scared to do anything, to go against the old man." Nick said, bitterly.

Nick could hear Warrick sighing over the phone. _"I don't know what else to tell you. I'm not a lawyer, and I'm not an expert in international law. I hate to say it, but it seems like you're pretty much screwed for the moment."_ Nick groaned. _"Don't go doing that, Nicky. Don't give up. Fight for him. I haven't seen you so happy with anyone since…well, ever. You two belong together. Don't let this one go. Don't let Greg go, do you hear me?"_ Warrick asked, sternly.

Nick nodded before he realized that Warrick couldn't see him over the phone. "Yeah. Yeah, I won't give up on him. You have my word on that."

---------------------------------------------------------

**Three weeks later**

Papa Olaf walking into his grandson's room. It was dark inside, and the air was stale. His nose wrinkled. He walked over to the window. He placed the tray that he was carrying on a nightstand nearby and jerked opened the curtains. The room was flooded with bright sunlight. He winced and turned his head away, his eyes having already adjusted to the brief darkness. He flipped a latch and opened the window. The essence of the ocean rode on the breeze that wafted into the room. He inhaled slowly, taking it all in. He looked out at the ocean through the bars outside of Greg's window. He sighed. He hated to have to put them there, but it was for the boy's own good. He kept on trying to get away, to get back to the U.S. and back to that _man_ that had corrupted his mind.

He turned away from the window and picked up the tray again. He walked over to Greg's bed where a huddled mass laid immovably on the far side of the bed, under the covers. He sat down on the opposite side of the bed. He sat the tray down near the foot of the bed.

"Greg, it's time for your breakfast. Time to get up," he said. The lump under the covers didn't even move. Only the steady rhythm of rising and falling breaths reassured Papa Olaf that there was in fact someone under there. He reached over and gently laid his hand on a portion of the lump that looked to be a shoulder. It was, and he gently shook it. He may as well have stabbed Greg there, from the reaction he got.

Greg jerked away from him so harshly that Greg himself nearly fell off the bed and the tray was only saved from it's meeting with the floor by Papa Olaf's steady hand. The covers slipped off of Greg and he tuned around to face his grandfather. He sat up. He was nearly overcome by a wave of dizziness, but he willed it to pass. He tried to hide his weakness from his grandfather.

Papa Olaf didn't need to see Greg waver just from the strain of trying to sit up. He could see signs of just how far gone Greg was by the way the clothes hung off his thin frame, the bags under his eyes, and the sickly pallor of his skin. He'd lost so much weight since he'd been brought back home where he belonged. He hadn't been eating well, hardly at all. Papa Olaf had been forced to intervene with the servants and bring Greg's meals in himself, recently. A part of his heart ached to see his grandson in such a state, the rest of it was filled with resolve that he would make his grandson forget about his time in the U.S. At what cost, though? He pushed that question out of his mind.

"Good, Greg, you're up. It's time for you to eat." He picked up the tray in his hand laden with all of Greg's favorite breakfast foods.

Greg didn't make any move to reach for the food. Papa Olaf sighed. "Please, Hojem-"

"Don't call me that!" Greg yelled, although it came out as more of a croak. He didn't really speak much in his days at home. What was there to talk about? Every single topic that Greg wanted to discuss revolved around Nick, and even the mention of the other man's name was forbidden in Papa Olaf's house, so he stayed silent most times. "You have no right to call me that. Not anymore."

"I most certainly do have the right to call you that, young man. I gave you that name. _That_ gives me the right. Stop being foolish and eat some of this food that I have brought for you. You need to eat something. You do not look healthy. Margrethe told me that you have not been eating again," Papa Olaf said, talking about Greg's personal servant.

"I would eat it if Nick fed it to me," Greg said.

Papa Olaf's hands tightened on the tray. "I told you never to speak of that name in my house!"

"Why can't I talk about the man I love?"

Papa Olaf's face turned an ugly shade of red. "Do not say that you love that perverted piece of filth, or I'll-" He started to yell.

"Or you'll _what?_" Greg yelled right back. "Forbid me from leaving the house? Already done that. Take away my passport? That was gone as soon as I stepped off the plane. Bar me up in here like I'm some sort of prisoner? I didn't think you'd go that far, but the proof is on the window."

Papa Olaf took a deep breath and tried to calm himself. Greg was trying on his patience, which was already stretched dangerously thin. "Look, why don't you just take one bite? You could be causing irreversible damage to yourself."

Greg kicked the tray from his hands, sending it flying. Food spilled onto the bed, and the floor, and all over Papa Olaf. "I don't fucking care, don't you get that! I don't care what happens to me! If I can't be with Nick, then I sure as hell don't want to be here with you!"

Something inside of Papa Olaf snapped. He backhanded Greg across the face, hard. The force of it was enough to knock Greg from the bed and onto the floor in a trembling mess.

Greg sobbed, not only from the pain of it, but from the fact that his grandfather had struck him. He had never done that. Greg had never been hit before except for the time he had been attacked in the alley. Images from that night flooding back into him mind. The thing that stood out the most, was the sheer terror he felt in those moments.

Papa Olaf sat there, stunned, his lap covered with the remnants of Greg's breakfast. He stared at his hand like it was some sort of alien object attached to his arm. He turned and stared at the space the Greg had been sitting in only seconds ago. The magnitude of what he'd just done finally hit him.

"Oh, God, Greg!" He rushed over to the other side of the bed and over where Greg lay. He dropped down on his knees, not caring at the pain that shot up them from making harsh contact with the hardwood floor. Greg was facedown on the floor. He reached out to lift his grandson up. What he got for his efforts was a bare foot to his stomach, knocking him onto his back and knocking the wind out of him. He scrambled back up when he could finally get some air back into his lungs. What he saw nearly broke his heart.

Greg was huddled in a corner, his arms wrapped around himself. He was rocking back and forth. "Please, don't hurt me," he kept saying, in a small, weak voice.

Papa Olaf ran a hand over his face. "Oh, God, I'm so sorry, Greg. I never meant to hurt you like that. Please believe me," he said.

Greg seemed to ignore him. He simply kept rocking back and forth, holding himself, lost in his own world.

It was at that moment that a part of Papa Olaf began to realize that what he'd done to Greg might _not_ have been worth it.

A/N: Oh, I wanted to pinch myself for writing this, but my fingers were too busy torturing Greg.

Question: Do you guys think that I should bring Sara back into the mix? Remember, she made a brief cameo in chapter seven?


	11. Unexpected

**Listened to: Bright Eyes- _"Lover I Don't Have To Love"_** Over, and over, and over….

Three weeks had passed, and Nick still had nothing. He'd researched Norwegian law night and day, yet he could find barely a loophole. He'd even resorted to trying to contact Greg's parents, but they were no help. They only told him that Greg was staying with his grandfather, Papa Olaf, for a while, so he wouldn't be there with them, and they wouldn't relay messages for Nick.

Nick could have sworn that he heard remorse in Mrs. Sanders' voice the last time he had called, but it didn't do much to boost his morale, since he was no closer to Greg than he was before. All he could do now was hope for some sort of far-fetched miracle.

----

Nick walked into the locker room after a yet another long day at work. He opened his locker and took out his bag and sat it on the bench. He leaned forward and pressed his hands on the top of his open locker, looking down. He took one hand down and pinched the bridge of his nose. He stayed like that for a moment.

"Hey, Nick."

He jumped and banged his arm on the locker door. "Fuck, Sara, you scared the shit outta me!" He said, looking at her and then his arm. It was scrapped, but nothing too bad. He sighed and slammed the locker closed.

"Jeez, sorry. It's not like I meant to scare you. I was actually in here when you came in. I don't know how you didn't notice me," she said, crossing her arms.

Nick sighed and sat down on the bench with his legs on either side. "I'm sorry, Sara. I've just been a little out of it, lately."

Sara snorted and sat down in front of him, mimicking his position. "A little. I'd say a lot. You're actually starting to worry me a little," she said.

Nick lifted his hand and rubbed the back of his neck. "I don't know what to tell you. Everything's starting to blur together. Every case, every piece of evidence…." _'Every foreign law,'_ he thought.

Sara nodded. "I know that this job can get to you a little-" Nick looked up at her and snorted. "Okay, a _lot_, but you have to get it together. You going out there half-cocked is a liability," she continued. "Maybe, you need to talk to someone."

"What, like a shrink?" She nodded. "Thanks, but no thanks. I don't feel like letting some stranger pry open my life right now," he said.

Sara reached over and put her hand on his shoulder and squeezed a little. "Then, why don't you talk to me? I may not be some high-priced therapist, or know what to do, but I can listen."

Nick smiled at her and placed his hand atop the one she had on his shoulder. This was the Sara he had fallen in love with. "Thank, but there's some…things going on that you might not be comfortable with," he said.

Her eyebrows lifted. "Oh? What, like, you having girlfriend troubles?"

Nick looked off to the side. "Something like that…."

"Nick, don't worry about it. I realized that what you and I had is in the past. I can deal with you talking about dating other people. I'd like for us to have what we had before, when we were still friends. When we could still talk to each other."

Nick sighed again. "Look, Sara…."

Sara waved him off. "It's no problem. I want to do this. I'll meet you at your place in fifteen?" She asked, standing up.

Nick looked up at her for a moment. _'Yep, that's the old, pushy Sara,'_ he thought, fondly. "Alright," he said, standing up himself and picking up his bag.

"Great! I'll bring bear. You can't have a heart-to-heart without being a little inebriated," she said.

Nick laughed. _'Yeah, I really wouldn't want to do this sober.'_

Hearing the doorbell, he walked over to his front door and paused for a moment, seeing Greg's walking stick. It had been left there, along with most of Greg's things. Nick had backed away most of Greg's things, but the stick, he couldn't touch. For some reason, he felt that if he removed it from its place by the door, it would mean that Greg was definitely not coming back, the he wouldn't need it anymore. He didn't have the heart to move it, even though it pained him to see it everyday. He tore his eyes away from it and opened the door for Sara.

Sara stood there, a smile on her face and a six-pack dangling from her fingers. It was Nick's favorite brand.

"I got your poison," she said. She handed Nick the beer and walked past him into the house.

Nick closed the door behind her and followed her to the living room. They sat on the couch and Nick pulled two beers free from the holder, handing one to Sara. He opened the other one and took a long draw from it. Sara sipped at hers.

She looked at him for a moment, and when he didn't say anything, only looked down a the beer in his hands, she spoke. "So, spill."

Nick sighed. "Where should I begin?"

Sara shrugged. "How about when you met this mystery woman. She must really be something if she's got you so worked up like this," she said.

Nick looked at her and then back down at his beer. He sat it down and leaned back on the couch. "I think that I should start a little before that," he said. _'If you could call twenty-two years a little amount of time.'_

"Okay," Sara said.

He took a deep breath. "The mystery woman…she's not really a woman, she's a man. I mean, _he's_ a man. Always has been," he said, cautiously.

Sara looked at him, shocked. "A…a man?"

Nick nodded.

She slumped back on the couch. She looked over in the direction of the TV, not really looking at it. "So, all this time, you've been with a man? What Warrick was talking about, the person you were seeing was actually a guy?"

Again, Nick nodded. He reached forward and took another long draw from his beer. It was started to give him a little buzz already. He belatedly thought that he should have eaten something before Sara arrived with the alcohol. It was too late, now. He looked over at her. She seemed to be lost in her own little world. He sighed. "Look, if you don't want to talk anymore, I'll understand," he said.

Her head snapped around and she looked at him like she had just realized that he was still there. "No! No…." She said, a little quieter. This time, she took a long draw from her can. "Does this mean that you were gay when we were together?" She asked.

Nick knew that that question was going to come up. "No. I'm bi. When I was with you, it was for real. Don't doubt that, Sara."

Sara bit her lip. "You're not just telling me this to make me feel better, are you? I can handle it if you weren't attracted to me," she said.

Nick reached forward and placed his hand on her thigh. He felt it tense underneath his palm. He ignored it. "I'm telling you the truth. When we were together, I truly cared for you, and I was attracted to you. You're not unlovable, Sara," he said.

Her head bowed. "I know. It's just…I really cared for you, Nick. I didn't know why we broke up, but I always suspected that it was because of me. You know, how I am, and the things that I can't do."

Nick heard the watery quality to her voice. He sat his beer down and wrapped his arms around her. She leaned into his embrace. "No, it wasn't you. We had just drifted apart. You and I both know it. I don't think that we were ever meant to be together like that. If we had continued, it would have just taken a toll on our friendship. It already has." He rubbed soothing circles on her heaving back.

After a moment, she pulled away. She sniffed, and then let out a laugh. "Look at me! I'm a mess. _I_ was supposed to be the one helping _you_," she said, wiping her face with the back of her sleeve.

Nick reached forward and wiped away the tears that she had missed. "Don't worry about it."

Sara looked up at him. He looked at her. The distance seemed to become smaller and smaller until their lips pressed together. Sara moaned at the contact. Her beer dropped from her hand to the carpet, but neither of them cared about the mess that it made at that moment. Their eyes wrapped around each other and Sara slowly fell back, pulling Nick on top of her.

Nick's hands roamed her body. A voice in the back of his mind was telling him that this was wrong, that he shouldn't be doing this with her because neither of them were in their right state mind to take this sort of step. Not to mention the fact that doing this would be a huge betrayal to Greg. He just couldn't stop himself.

He pulled off Sara's jacket and then hitched up her shirt to that he could caress her breasts through he bra. He deftly unlatched the thing and pushed it up and out of the way and continued his touches.

Sara arched up and moaned as their tongues duels in her mouth. She spread her legs wantonly and allowed him to settle between them.

Nick was hard, but when his straining erection pressed between her nether folds through the barrier of their pants, it quickly wilted. She wasn't Greg. She didn't smell like him, that citrus, spicy Gregsmell. She didn't feel like him, either. She _wasn't_ Greg. He pulled away.

"Fuck!" He sat back and put his head in his hands. "We shouldn't be doing this. I'm so sorry, Sara."

Sara sat up, re-clasping her bra, and then she pulled her shirt down. She had felt him loss his erection when their groins pressed together. It was no small blow to her ego, but she understood. She moved over and sat next to him. She put her arm around his shoulder. "You must really love this guy, huh?" She asked, though she already knew the answer.

Nick nodded. He looked at her. "So much, Sara. It hurts that he's not here with me anymore," he said.

"Did you guys break up?" She asked.

Nick shook his head. "No." He told her the whole story, from when he had met Greg in the alleyway of the 7 Eleven, to the day that he was taken away from him. He could feel the anger boil up in him again as he retold the story for her, but he pushed it down, knowing that it wouldn't help either of them.

She frowned. "So, Greg is blind and he doesn't have anymore rights in his country than a child does here because of it?" She asked, trying to understand.

Nick nodded. "Everything is just so screwed up. I don't know what to do. I can't get anything out of his parents, and I can't find anyway around the laws. I'm at a dead end," he said.

Sara pursed her lips, deep in thought. After a moment, she looked back at Nick. "I think I might be able to help you get Greg back, Nick."

A/N: OMG! HET! XD It just happened like that, seriously. No actual beers were harmed in the making of this chapter.


End file.
